Death, Emotion, And Everything In Between
by My-Name-is-Spoken
Summary: She has finally awoken. Yet her soul bleeds, haunted by something she cannot undo. It may be the downfall of the entire world. If only...
1. Death

(A/N) Welcome to the first chapter of Death, Emotion, And Everything in Between!!! This is my second fic, the first one is Child Of Heart, if you didn't know already… I don't know, but I hope this one will be better… Child Of Heart is currently uncompleted… but don't worry... I'll manage to do both stories… 0.0; Okay, I have nothing more to say, except ENJOY AND REVIEW!!!)

Disclaimer: Um, sorry, Rumiko, this is really a water gun, they are all yours I'm just borrowing ::shot:: see, water, just water….

Death, Emotion, and Everything In Between

Chapter One

Bird Song.

Child Laughter.

Rustle of Flowers.

Innocence.

           The tune of such a world is foreign to me. The ears that have heard a thousand pleas for help seem to ignore all melodies except that of Death. The song of the faceless women; of the souls with lidless eyes; that is the song they admire, the plucking of strings, pizzicato. Silence and Death, those are the perpetual chants my ears live by.

The Code.

The Code is not for Child Laughter.

Not for Bird Song or Rustle of Flowers. It is not for Innocence.

I live by The Code. Or rather, lived by it. Now the tune of Death has a different melody. It is the melody of Protection. Protecting Child Laugher, Bird Song, Innocence as well as the Rustle of Flowers.

I live by that Code now.

But Death does not bend to that tune so easily, so now, all I have left is Silence.

Thinking of things a bit more philosophically, I still have Death.

Silence is the dear friend of Death. Both bend to one another without question. After all, Death is the opposite of life; it is Time standing still. Silence on the other hand is Wasted Time. So, does not the Law of Syllogism state that Silence naturally Becomes Death?

A tug on my sleeve calls me back from the cold interior of my thoughts to the outside world of Laughter, Song, Innocence and something new. Emotion. The power of these new feelings wash over me and become one with my cold interior. All Emotion is now frozen. Death plays its tune in the Background.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, look, I made this for you." The child shows me a wreath of flowers. Vivid Colors. I know what she wants me to do, I lower my head so she may reach and tuck those colors into my silver hair. Emotions thaw for a moment and freeze up, once again. No use for them, Icicles give me more comfort than warmth. They offer much more protection.

I straighten myself. Dust away the Wetness the thawed icicles have left on my body and stand up, glancing around until my eyes pause on the child. Her eyes are shining with warmth. What a Fool. She Smiles. An Icicle breaks away. That Smile is the one thing that keeps her with me. Her Smile is the very thing that enabled me to save her and accept her almost as my own. Even though she is Human. She has the Smile. Too bad she is also a Fool.

She starts laughing. Child Laughter. Something I've learned to protect. The Rustle of Flowers catches my attention. Danger.

"Rin, be quiet."

"Hu-" the child shuts her Human mouth. The mouth that is capable of the Smile. Danger. My Claws extend to their toxic state and I hurl myself at the Beast of motion in the Rustling Flowers. Innocence can be very Deadly. I stop in mid assault. A breeze from the direction of the Beast flows to my nostrils and I pick up the very heavy scent of Blood. This Beast is already dead. My nose picks up a weaker scent. Under all that blood is the smell of-

My eyes widen.

Inuyasha.

But how is the idiot of a half brother that I have, connected to the Beast?

My nose picks up another scent. 

This one is stronger than Inuyasha's normal one. It is the scent of his blood.

Another scent.

My eyes widen to their maximum extent.

This is the scent closest to me, to that of my father. 

I stand still and a small hand tugs at my sleeve once more. I look down at the child. She is holding the wreath of flowers; it must have fallen off while I was running. I look at her and my instincts of Protection overcome my Curiosity. 

"Jaken."

"Yes milord."

"Take Rin and bring her back to the castle. Rin, go play with Jaken and do as he says. I will be back shortly."

"Hai" both of them nod their heads in agreement. I signal for Ah and Uh to follow me. I jump onto the saddle and they fly into the clouds. Below I hear Jaken ordering Rin to follow him. But I know what she is doing. She is Staring at me. Smiling. Waving. Her pathetic Human brain does not understand. She does not know about the Blood.

I am Immune to it. I ignore it. The Stench would drive any demon crazy, any Normal Demon crazy, but not a Taiyoukai like me. If it did, I would not be the most powerful one in the Western Lands, or rather, My Western Lands. If it did, I would not have won all the battles, I would have lost. I would be insane a million times over, so I have to be Immune. There is no other choice for me.

I lead Ah and Un to the core of the stench. To the place filled with so much blood I would have thought that villages upon villages were massacred. But I know better. Experience has taught me so much, and has taught me well. This blood can't have been of villages because most of it is not even human. Maybe part of a village was destroyed, but the smell is mostly of demon blood.

I have reached the core. I halt Ah and Un for a moment and point in a direction. Down. The two heads nod to one another and head straight for the ground.

The strong smell of blood almost overpowers my senses, sending me to the brink of insanity. I stop and close my eyes. Focusing on my own scent. Calm. I need to feel that. Calm and Calm. The icicles maximize in their strength. Good. I open my eyes. There is too much to take in, even for a Demon like me. I close them once more hoping that the Calm would spread through my body.

My eyelids flicker open. Red. A lot of it. The Death orchestra is playing overtime. I study the Six Bodies. Three Demons. Three Humans. I recognize Five of the Bodies. Inuyasha's companions no doubt. More Fools. The Sixth I see was once a Kairi-youkai, defined by its strong teeth, teeth. A glint of Fang catches my eye as if it is an explanation. Pieces of the Tetsusaiga are strewn all over the battlefield. 

I glance back at the Five Bodies I had identified both as Inuyasha's Companions and Fools. I look at my Kind first. The fire cat is missing her tails. I see them across the field in the taijya's hand. Bloody tears stain the once yellow fur red. What a Pity. Next, I look at the little Kitsune. No visible injuries, as he is lying on his back. My icicles freeze up once more as I turn him around and eye a flesh wound. I could see his innards poking out from his torn skin. Pity. I feel Pity once more.

I eye the humans now. The taijya first, with the fire cat's tails in her bloody hand. No hope for her. Her stomach covered by half of her weapon, the boomerang. I lift it; nothing that would associate her with the melody of Death is observable. I use one claw to tear her skimpy clothes. A trickle of blood flows down. I rip more of the fabric then I gently feel her ribs. How very strange. It seems to me that her own weapon killed her. The force that her weapon was knocked into her ribs caused them to shatter, right into her heart. She probably died in a of internal bleeding. How Gruesome.

The monk was lying right next to her, so it cost me almost no energy to waste on turning around to look at him. His staff still sparkled with his spiritual power. The smell of blood is very powerful with him. Nothing is wrong with the monk except for the gaping hole where his heart should be. There is no heart. His hand is clutching something. I open it and close it in a second's time. What kind of monster would rip out a man's heart and make him hold it while it was still beating?

I turn to the last body. It is Her. She is lying on a tree root. I see a glimmer of purple light. I look closer. It is her aura. She is alive, but Dying. There, I could hear it, the Melody. Her body seemed to take a few breaths at a time. That is when I actually heeded it. Her Heart.

KADUNK

KADUNK

KADUNK

Kadunk-kadunk-kadunk…

It sped up.

Her chest lifted and lowered as she took another small breath. It seems Inuyasha had missed her throat and instead took out her ribs. It does not matter to me.

She is a source of information. Though I could quite easily speculate what had happened, I do not know. I take a closer look at Her. Her hands clutch something near her ribs. Tetsusaiga's scabbard lies in her tiny hands, surrounded by some energy, which was being absorbed by her body. She jerked and opened her eyes using just about all of her remaining energy.

Her mouth moved, forming words. But her vocal cords remained unstrung.

She tried again. This time bits of the words were heard.

"Sessh….*gasp* take…*gasp* bits of…*sigh* Tet…tet …tet…" She rolled her eyes. Trying to focus on my figure. I moved closer.

"Tetsusaiga?" I asked? She half nodded. She pointed to the bits of the sword.

"Ta….ke" she finally managed to say before she fell into unconsciousness once more. I thought that she was right; after all, there might be a way to fix the sword, though truthfully, I do not need it anymore since I have the Tokijin. But another sword, one as valuable and as deadly as the Tetsusaiga is also a prized possession. And I, Sesshoumaru, shall have it as my own. If I find a way to fix it. I look at the girl, and decide to take her along with me, on Ah and Un's back. Once she tells me exactly what has happened I shall let her go, but for this very moment, she belongs to me.

I look at her the very moment her body jerks as she tries to inhale some oxygen. Death lingers near.

I pick the frail women and lay her on Ah and Un. Quickly, I gather the fragments of Tetsusaiga and summon a red cloud that would take me back to my castle. I nod to the dragon and Ah and Un begin to fly. I wonder what has become of my idiot brother. He is probably dead right now, or at least dying. Not knowing what he has become, a spineless killing machine. I think it is better left this way. For if the transformation doesn't kill him, the knowledge of what he did will, of course, if he is not already dead. I am quite sure in thinking that he would never wipe the smell of Blood Clean off his fingers. He would Die. And Death would play its lovely tune for him.

Did you like it? Did you not? Push the purple button.. oh.. and here's vocabulary….though, if you really know me, I didn't use a lot at all…

Hai- Yes

Youkai- Demon

Taiyoukai- um… lets just say, Demon Lord

Kairi- Beaver

I think that's it…

Sesshoumaru: Why exactly do I take her to the castle?

Spoken 0.0; : Uh… because you have to.:MYAHAHAHAHA! I made you… well, I guess I could fix it, don't worry, next chapter, you'll throw her out

::glint in my eye::

Kagome:: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THROW ME OUT, DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD I PRACTISED BEING HALF DEAD… AND NOW YOU'LL THROW ME OUT?

Spoken: Uh… it'll be fine, I promise…. ::worried::

Kagome: Oh, no! You promised me at least 15 chapter of being half dead… see….. its in the contract.

Spoken: Aw c'mon, wouldn't you rather be alive?

Kagome: Been there done that… its too boring…

Spoken: but if you're half dead you won't get many lines…

Kagome: I don't Sesshoumaru! Stop breathing down my back

Sesshoumaru: Don't worry, you're mine, remember

Spoken **smack** ::good ol' trusty frying pan:: hehehehe

Kagome &Sesshoumaru -.-;

Spoken… okay now's the time for reviewing hehehe…he…hehehe…oh.

*gulp*

Um

Okay

~Spoken, 

Ja Ne

I NEED REVIEWS T_T

Kagome & Sesshoumaru -.-; wow, she sure is desperate.


	2. Useless

Hey-llo, its me again. I'm finally finished with Chapter Two… been busy with Children of Heart …ack. My creativity is being sucked from me. Hope you like this chapter!!! R/R please

Disclaimer: Maybe... somewhere in an alternate universe of the fifteenth dimension, I do own Inuyasha, but, right here, right now… I don't

Death, Emotion, And Everything In Between

Chapter Two

           The girl jerked once more on the bed, a reaction to her injuries. I watched her. Bouen, my personal healer, had bandaged her as well as she could and added some chinseizai, but it was only temporary. She was dressed in a kimono one of my servants had given her. How ironic that her kimono was made out of silk and was colored a light beige, while her expression wasn't that of bliss. I hear footsteps coming closer and ever so closer. It must be her, checking on her patient. I move toward the door just as the knob begins turning. She enters.

           The Taka-youkai, known for her great sense of sight, hence the name that means 'seeing at a distance', entered the room with a swift motion and a lot of grace. I couldn't expect any less from one of my personal servants. She looked as though she was gliding on air. I look at the girl, but Bouen blocks my view. Knowing not to interrupt, I moved myself leftward and was granted a full view of her. Bouen was checking her pulse. She turned to me.

           "Everything is fine. The only problem I have encountered is the immense pain she will receive once the painkillers have stopped working. Nothing will help her, since my supply is completely diminished. I am afraid that a fragile thing like her will go crazy."

           "How long will they last?"

           "A few more hours."

           "She will not be in the castle by then. Thank you, Bouen."

           "My life is useful only to serve you," she said as she retreated from the room. I look at the women-child. My brother had brought such shame unto my family he doesn't deserve to live. Too bad, it was not I, who had or has the pleasure of killing him, but a lowly youkai, whose name I don't know. But such is the fate that the hanyou deserves.  I look at Her again, it is Time she woke up, and after all, I have so little Time to waste on the likes of Her. She will tell me what I need then 'come insane when pain controls all of her thoughts.

           I kneel down and grab her by the shoulders. I make her sit up, causing her to suddenly awake. Her eyes looked as if they couldn't focus, and her head drooped. In order to help her focus, I hold her head firmly with my hands and stare into her eyes, so she would center on my own. Her mouth tried to form words, once again. Finally, sound came of the wretched girl, and I made out a plea. Water. She wanted water.

           I gesture to a servant who stands in a corner of the room. A moment later, a cup of cool water was pressed to her lips by her shaking hands, accompanied by my servant's calm ones. When she had her fill, she tried to talk again, and this time, it seemed it was much easier for her because I could actually understand her.

           "Where?" she paused. "Inuyasha?"

           I shrugged. "I can not possibly know, but my guess is that he is dead or at least dying." I grin. She looks away, no tears in her eyes. No Emotion. Does she have cold in her heart as well?

           "Good." She turned to me. "As long as he doesn't know and," she paused, "will never know."

           Why she is talking to me, about such pointless things, I do not know. Even with painkillers, it must hurt to talk, such a frail ningen, would be more worried about herself. And yet, it seems, she doesn't notice the knives that pierce her throat, the needles that keep her from breathing properly. There is too much Silence. Wasted Time.

           "I need to know what happened to my brother." I urge her.

           "Ah." She said as if she knows Something. "But you already know."

           "Yet, I do not know the details."

           "What details?" she coughed twice. "Details are not important."

           "I shall state what is and isn't important, now tell me who the killer of my brother was."

           "I killed him." She said, looking into my eyes. It was strangely unnerving. They were cold, colder than ice on sweating skin. Freezing is not the right word for it; I do not even believe I know one that would be even slightly good enough to serve as a feeble description. This cold made me laugh, a bitter laugh.

           "You are brave, to try to defy this Sesshoumaru." I closed the distance between her bed and my body. "I smell no blood on your hands. And if you want proof, you love him too much."

           "Love?" She scoffed. "I did not Love that demon, the one that came close to killing me. Inuyasha did not miss me! I automatically made a shield from my purification powers, setting him of course as well as scorching his hand! No, Sesshoumaru. I did not love Him." She grabbed her throat and I signal for another glass of water to be brought. The sign. It was beginning. Soon, the painkillers would stop working. She drank the water as I studied her. Could she be telling the truth or lying to this Sesshoumaru once more? I could tell if she were lying or not, if she had any Emotion left within her, but none showed. So how am I to know?

           She finished her water, and resumed talking. "I killed him Sesshoumaru, or I had helped in any case. The Inuyasha I loved. He was the one that would do anything to protect me, even risk his own life. The day before Kikyou died, the day before the last fragments were collected from the decayed body of Naraku, he mated with the walking clay. I did not care; after all, that is what I wanted. For Him to be happy. But when She died, when the Shikon and my soul returned to my body, he fell into a state of depression. Then what was the whole point of my sacrifice?" 

Her eyes widened and a flash of light flooded the room. When I regained my vision, she was still sitting on the bed as if nothing had happened, as if it was normal for her to be surrounded by light. Then, suddenly her body jerked and she fell into a fit of coughs. She covered her mouth with her hand, and once again, my servant ran to her with a cup of water. She refused it and kept coughing. A moment later she stopped and wiped her lips. She accepted the cup with one hand and drank the water. Meanwhile, probably hoping I would not notice, she wiped her hand on the blanket. She forgot that the blanket is white, and her blood is red. I pretend I do not notice. But the last sign had occurred, she should be feeling pain like she never felt before. And yet, she acts as if nothing happened.

 "I realized there simply was no point. I had made a sacrifice without a point. And still I did not care. You see Sesshoumaru. I shouldn't have made that sacrifice. Your brother. Your true brother died long before he ever let go of that sword." She said, piercing me with her glare.

"I see" I nod, as if in agreement. She stops looking into my eyes to submerge into another fit of bloody coughs. "You are no longer needed." I say as she stops coughing and smears more Human blood onto my satin sheets. "It is time for you to leave." I say. I do not understand how she can stand the pain and show no emotion, but no matter her state of health, I have no more time left to waste on her. Silence. Because she has helped me, it is only proper for me to escort her out of the castle and to the nearest village. I have to stop wasting time. I have to stop Silence before it turns into Death.

"You wish for me to leave?" she sad, with all knowing eyes.

"You do not know the one that killed Inuyasha. So, why should I keep you here?"

"Inuyasha killed himself Sesshoumaru. Details are not important."

"If I had killed Inuyasha, it would have been much easier for me to fill out his death records. But now, I have to search for some kind of clue of a demon that had been the closest to killing Inuyasha, because I haven't."

"Then write down my name as his killer. The Inuyasha who you think is dead has died long ago before the monster did. If he is dead."

"I cannot wench, for you did not kill him physically. Just started a domino effect."

"Don't you see? The dominoes are details, and they aren't important. It is who that knocks them down that is."

"And yet, you are blind to the fact that you are merely a domino as well."

"Nani?"

"Who knows when Inuyasha's fate was triggered to collapse? And that is why, Human, details are important. You, domino, are no longer needed." I said and I pick her up from the bed. She did not even grimace though I am quite sure I touched some of her injuries. Her face remained blank, in the state of confusion. I start to walk slowly. Then, seeing no reaction from her, I quicken my pace to that of an average running speed for Humans. Is it possible that she really didn't suffer any severe injuries? No, Bouen would not lie. And Bouen cannot be mistaken. Maybe, the girl is already crazy. The pain is just too much for her small brain to calculate. Maybe, pain is invading all of her senses, so she would not notice it until it is too late. Maybe.

Because there is still no response from the girl once I reach the forest that lay past my castle gates, I quicken my pace to a faster one, still on the Human level. I am now very disturbed by the Silence, so I switch to a low Demon Level. Not wanting Death to come, I run faster and faster and finally break through the dense wilderness to the village in which the Girl would be staying. If my servants have done what I had commanded them to do, a home had been prepared for the Girl and a housekeeper assigned for the time being.

In my haste, I forgot, for one of the first times in my life, to be notified of the location of the house I had asked for. I was saved this time, I can admit, by my servants, for the assigned housekeeper, one of my closest servants, had her scent in the village and I focused on it. Kashiwagi. I found her. The momonga youkai was quietly waiting on the steps of a respectable-looking house.

"Irasshai, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said to me, with warm eyes. "So, this is the injured Girl. Are the painkillers still in effect?"

"No."

"Douyatte?" she asked as if there was some reason.

"Dounikakounika." I replied. Worry filled her face.

"How is she expressionless?"

"Ask her." I lower my gaze to the girl who still had a blank look on her face. She didn't meet my eyes this time. As if she were currently in her own world. I, being very ungentle, dropped her to the floor. She hit the ground hard, her beige kimono not softening her fall, followed by silky strands of her ebony hair. She lay limp for a moment, and then gathered herself into a sitting position. Her eyes were still cold and expressionless, but her mouth twitched into a second-rate smile. She directed the smile at me.

"Pain. I feel it of course, but as long as my brain doesn't understand it, I can simply ignore it."

"Lying to yourself is not good."

"I know, but it is the only way to deal with it. Crying never helped me previously and talking always fails. Lying is the best thing for a poor useless domino girl like me." She said in a sarcastic tone as she smiled again. Her future servant looked more worried than before.

"She is sane." I try to assure her, as well as convince myself.

"Sesshoumaru," her tone more serious and cold, "don't act like you know me. The only people that ever did are dead, and the only other ones that half understood me, aren't born yet. You are not in any of these two categories. Shimekiru." This enraged me even more. How dare she! Perhaps she isn't sane at all. Because of my unsure-ness, I let it slide. A mistake? I do not know.

I turn my back on this women-child, thinking I wouldn't see the likes of her ever again. She might not even know who she is, after all, I glimpse back for a fraction of a second. She sits on the ground, in a silk, beige kimono, limply following my every move with Dead as well as Silent eyes.

ITS FINISHED!!! Hmm.. did I keep the same tense… -.-; T_T I DON'T KNOW Anyway, R/R

Lots of Vocabulary this time, sorry, I couldn't help myself ^.~

Bouen: Seeing at a distance

Chinseizai: Painkiller

Taka: Hawk

Youkai: Demon

Ningen: Human

Nani: What

Kashiwagi: Oak tree

Momonga: flying squirrel

Irasshai: Welcome

Douyatte: How is it so?

Dounikakounika: Somehow

Shimekiru: shut up, the problem is, I don't know if it means shut up in slang, or in the literal form.

Okay, time for responses!!!

Thank You, **Kagomesirene**, my very first reviewer!!!

**Kagomesirene**: Thanks so very much, I hope you like this chapter and the one after that and the one after that… T_T once I get a chance to write them all…

**Skitzoflame**: Hehehe.. unfortunately, or fortunately.. I don't know, I'm skipping the little skit this time, thx for reviewing!

**Inuphoria**: I guess, it sort of developed… Though I'm not sure about the human sacrifice thing… yet… ::cough::

**Inudemoness247**: I read your story, and its not too shabby ^.~ keep writing!

**Victoria**: well.. I'm thinking of maybe changing the pov… but, hey, I'm not forcing you to read it…until, I find out where u live ::evil grin::

**Spiffeh Sesshoumaru**: hehe… thanks its people like you that make me want to continue the story… 0.0; did that come out right? Yeah! Okay… hope you like this chappie

Hmm.. six reviews for my very first chapter ::does a little dance:: seems this story will be more successful than my last

 ::-.-;:: then again.. maybe not… I'm still not done with either of them…so…::continues dancing::

OKAY!! Poll is

1- continue with Sesshoumaru pov

2- switch to Kagome pov 

3- Switch between the two characters

Okay... I'm hoping for #3 because it'll be easier to write that way, but, its reviewers choice!!! And don't worry, I can do all three…but if there aren't enough votes… when I start next chapter... it'll be #3… for chapter three…

~Spoken

Ja Ne


	3. The Oracle

(A/N) I'm done! Don't worry; the plot's only starting, but I NEED REVIEWS!!! Only two for the last chappie. I wonder why.. hmm.. It wasn't too bad!!! Okay: Enjoy

Disclaimer, Not mine, but I wish it was

Death Emotion and Everything IN Between

Chapter Three 

           A Silver presence hovered above the shrine. The old, tired eyes of the priestess who was gathering a few herbs from the garden struggled to make out a solid figure. But since there wasn't one to make out, it was futile. "Who be ye?" she whispered taking out a talisman. "An evil spirit or one that can't leave this world?" she reminded herself of her older sister.

           "Kagome." The name echoed from the silver mass.

           "What business would ye have with her?"

           "Not important. Kagome, where is she?" the silver particles rushed at each other creating a silver sphere that floated mid air.  In the middle of the sphere, a picture of Kagome appeared, wearing her weird green-white-and-red-tie uniform, a bow and a quiver and a smile. "Kagome. You know her?"

           "Are ye trying to kill her?"

           "No, I have some business with her that I need to be taken care of, I represent no harm." This seemed to convince Kaede. 

           "Aye. Yonder girl has died, I'm afraid."

           "No. Kagome is not dead. She can't die, oracles don't lie." Kaede's face filled with worry. She brandished the talisman in front of her.

           "Be gone!"

           "No. You've got it all wrong, I'm a good oracle."

           "There exists no such thing!"

           "Where is she?"

           "Aye, I told you she be dead! Her companions were found Inuyasha and her both gone, ye know not what you speak of."

           "I see. I'll leave now, thank you. Inuyasha you say. He's dead, but, he is not the last of his line."

           "Can it be true? Can such a being really exist? Kagome, if ye is alive child, ye be either in terrible danger, or ye be saved."

~Sesshoumaru, Two Days From Leaving Kagome~

           I pick up another scroll. This is definitely going to be a mess. I was not lucky in finding my brother's killer, still not having any proof that he is actually dead. This annoyed me to no end and I found myself actually wanting to be in the gardens, seeing Rin play among the flowers. My disgust of humans turned into curiosity when I saw this child, and it never ceases to amaze me. What great Kami thought up of such irony? That I, Lord Sesshoumaru would be a tool used to display curiosity, I am not some jester. But in the end, that's what all beings are, tools. 

I should be proud to be the tool of Kami instead of someone else, after all, its either have control or be controlled. And I should be pleased that Kami gave me this shed, the Western Lands, to keep all the useless tools. Those 'dominos' let's say. But, what I am not pleased about is this headache Kami bestowed on me as well.

Too bad Inuyasha's wench had not given me what I needed; it would have made everything so much easier. If it really were her, I'd thank her and maybe even feed her in my prisons. But instead, she offers me no information, acts bravely and foolishly while looking into death's face and takes away one of my servants. How very rude of her. Doesn't even thank me for my generosity. She never even mentioned how I would fix that damn sword! All it does now is take up useless space in my armory.

She should be dead now. I do not understand why my servant had not returned from the house yet. By all means, she should be lying still and cold, just as she had when I left. I saw it. I saw death in her eyes, so she should be dead. I can't be wrong. A person with dysfunctional lungs cannot live, so why, why do my senses tell me she still has an aura? Perhaps if I give her a shrine to put her ashes in, she'd die out of gratitude. But then again, what really bothers me, what amazingly actually bothers me, me! Sesshoumaru! Is her lack of emotion? She is a mystery indeed. But, one that should be forgotten, not thought about. Because her mystery is one that can even leave me in trapped in the maze of the mind.

~Kagome, Two Days From When She Was Dumped Onto The Floor~

           A trickle of blood made itself known to me as it slid down my cheek, gave my lips a taste and splattered onto the ground below me. How many tears of blood shall my body cry? If only they would burst into crimson carnations when they reached the floor, then the world would indeed be a beautiful place. If everyone likes red that is. But the chance of that happening is about as likely as my salty tears turning into those blue daisies I used to buy at the flower shop. If only everything and everyone were really flowers, then the only drops of water we would ever have to cry are the morning dewdrops and those wouldn't even be our own. 

           I sweep the floor, not paying attention to the little red speck. More would come soon, no use in minding one when there are so many. Kashiwagi (a/n previously, I really only meant for it to be her scent, but now, I'm too lazy to think up a name)-chan was a real help, but I need to focus on something. Chores were my only answer. And they still are now. The pain receptors aren't going to put up with my bullshit much longer. The pain was already trying to go past my lies.

           "Kagome-chan, dinner is ready!"

           "Arigatou!" I walk towards the entrance of the little house. Kashiwagi-chan is still so very persistent on having me do as little work as possible. Whenever I promise to work until lunchtime or until dinner, she cooks everything as quickly as she can to make me keep the promise. I don't remember Sesshoumaru ordering her to do anything, so why does she care? She isn't important, not important, just like me. 

           I enter the kitchen, the smell of Oyako Domburi entering my nose, sharpening my sense of smell, even for that one short moment. Kashiwagi seems to like cooking very much, as well as very well. She has been preparing me different dishes everyday, exploring the depths of my tastes. So far, she cooked everything remarkably and every dish constantly reminded me of home. I smiled as I entered the room. 

           Something outside caught my eye. It was something, I don't know, formless, a being of silver. I stared at the open window. There it was again! This time, I noticed it was more of a mist, looking for something. I ignored it, it looked exactly like a soul of some dead person, and I know better than to bother the dead. "Something wrong?" the voice of my new so-called friend called me back to the real world. "You don't like Oyako Domburi? I'll cook something else for you!"

           "Oh, its okay. I love Oyako Domburi! Don't worry." I said plastering a fake smile on my face and sat down onto the floor. The cute little table was filled with the wonderfully scented dish. I glanced at the meal and picked up the chopsticks. All of a sudden I felled my stomach squeeze and my lungs no longer tried to draw air. I sputtered, needing oxygen. This turned into a cough as I coughed blood onto the white rice. My blood fused with the white, turning it a light red color as it made its way down to the bottom of the bowl. I collapsed seeing the silver mist gather near my window.

~Kagome's Dream~  
_"You are Kagome! I found you, found you at last!"_

_           "Who are you?" I ask, finding myself sitting on a bench in a blank area of nothingness._

_           "Why, I am the oracle!"_

_           "The what?"_

_           "The Ka Takusen!"_

_           "Oh. Okay, and this dream's plot is, um, a visit to the oracle to see who The One really is!"_

_           "No Kagome. This plot is to uncover, the missing Miko."_

_           "I am a miko, but I'm not missing."_

_           "You are the Fourth Miko. The One that will bring balance to the world of Japan."_

_           "Japan is no world. And my life isn't balance, how can I balance a country?"_

_           "You are the Fourth. The Greatest."_

_           "Wow, this really is starting to sound like the Matrix" (_Okay, don't think I got the idea from the matrix, I still didn't see #3, so, no.)

           _"Kagome, you must sleep."_

_           "I am."_

_           "No, the prophecy _(a/n -.-;) _of the Fourth gives a spell. One that will teach you all you need to know to bring balance."_

_           "Balance? Is something unbalanced to begin with?"_

_           "Four Miko's are chosen to balance this world. The First, The Second, The Third and The Fourth. Unfortunately, when these four beings were being chosen, the Fourth Miko was not found. Now, as rumors of the Fourth, Kagome, has reached the Good Oracle's ears I have awaken to bring you to the truth."_

_           "You're saying, that, all I have to do, to escape, is to sleep?"_

_           "Yes."_

_           "I won't feel pain? What about my mother, brother…?"_

_           "All will be explained."  
"So, I sleep, and I become the Balance?"_

_           "Yes. Do you accept."? That hit the spot. I have nothing to loose._

_           "Show yourself first."_

_           "As You command." A silver mist gathered from all corners of nothing and formed into the body of a woman. The women with light brown hair and a tall lean figure floated on nothing and faced me. She was beautiful. Her green eyes stood out from her pale face and her white two-piece dress with silver swirls. She wore white leather shoes that seemed something that a stylish teenager of my age would wear. On her head was a white tiara. Her dress, very indecent for this era, would have hit the mall in no time flat. A sleeveless tank that reached a little above her belly button and a low rise long skirt with two slits on each side. She WAS beautiful. In her hand was a staff a little higher than her with a swirling orb of gray perched on right on top. I trusted this woman._

_           "I accept."_

_           A white light from the orb surrounded me as a sweet voice began to chant.  
           "Sleep, Kagome dearest, sleep_

_                     And our promise we will keep_

_                     Close your eyes and in return_

_                     We guarantee that you shall learn_

_                     All the secrets of this world and key_

_                     To unlocking every mystery_

_                     Now Sleep."_

And all was dark. Before I could even question my stupid actions. I did not even know how long the spell would last! I did not here the worried words of Kashiwagi. I did not smell her tears of feel her fear. She knew I was not dead. I was sleeping. But as Silence grew stronger and my breaths slower, she was discouraged and hopeless of my survival. She thought she saw Death and looked it in the eyes. But all she saw was its shadow.

Vocab

Kami: God

Arigatou: Thank You

Oyako Domburi: This is a rice dish with [usually] chicken and egg placed on top.

Ka: Great/Good

Takusen: Oracle

Miko: Priestess

Sp: Okay, this is an okay chappie I hope you liked 

Brian: Yeah, but you forgot one thing *again*

Sp: -.-; Okay, this is Brain… the guy that created the title.

Brian: YEAH NOW YOU ALL KNOW WHO THE REAL TALENTED WRIT-

::smacks Brian's brains with my trusty ol' frying pan.

Brian: X_X

Kag: Was that really necessary?

Sp: *winks* and there's a lot more where that came from hehe:: points to the museum of frying pans in Sesshoumaru's castle::

Ses: Where did that come from, why do I have useless human things in my castle?

Sp: They're rented don't touch!

::starts whacking strangers with frying pans:: *can't get enough of this* R/R

OKAY RESPONSES TO REVIEWS…*smack's Brian to make sure he won't wake up soon enough to mess with my story*

There were only Two Reviews this time T-T

Aw well, better than zero, I suppose.

Anyway: here are the responses:

**Sinn1**: You totally succeeded in confusing me à 0.0;? BUT  I understood the part about the liking S/K fics, hey ME TOO… and the vote is still being cast for the 1 2 or 3… there is no choice four 0.0; so, please try again *I sound like one of those bottle caps don't I ::sigh::*

**Me-dreaming-zzz**: Oh, soon very soon ::laughs evilly::  And thank you for your vote if no one else votes, number three it will be! HEY THAT RHYMES XD okay, you'll find out many reasons to why he didn't let her stay in her castle one of them is: it's too cliché, find me a reason for her being allowed to stay and fine, but one of the ones you might have noticed is she's supposed to be dead or dying, so Sesshoumaru may have wanted her to spend her last minutes in human civilization. Ses: SO not true! You don't know why I do the things I do, and that's how it will ALWAYS be!!! Sp: -.-* shut up!

Okay, done done done

REVIEW!! Or check out my other story : **Children of Heart: **work in progress

~Spoken 

Ja Ne


	4. Sleeping Beauty

(A/N) Hello, here is Chapter Four.

Read and enjoy!

Read and Review !

Enjoy and Review!

Please pick one of the above 3 options.

Disclaimer: I know I've been here before…I don't own them… anymore.

Death, Emotion and Everything In Between

Chapter Four

           I see one of my favorite servants reduced to tears as I look at the almost lifeless human she holds in her grasp. She is shaking her fiercely, screaming at her to wake up, thinking she is dead, though she is still breathing, then she sobs into her chest and tells her she's sorry. Why? She has known her for not even three full days and still she grieves for a stranger. Why does this demon show such sympathy for a human, it is beneath her!

           The sobs will soon turn my headache into a migraine, I'm sure. I study the face of the wench. Her facial expression was out of focus. She wasn't dreaming because her eyelids didn't show any motion. But, how is this possible? Maybe, she is under a spell that makes her sleep, or she really is dead, but is under an illusion spell that makes her appear alive. I do not know, but tears are not worth her sake. 

           I look down at Tenseiga. The sword could bring her back from the dead if the latter were true. Maybe it could even break the spell that she may be under. I grasp its hilt then slowly and gracefully raise the sword. The metallic sound caught my servant's attention and she stopped her sobbing to look at me. I look at her and understanding appears in her eyes. She moves away to prepare room for me.

           I raise the sword higher, preparing for the little imps to appear. I study the girl. Nothing is happening. Suddenly, the room darkens. I see something, but it is not an imp. At first sight, it looks like a girl. Light brown hair and green eyes shine for a second as her tall figure faces me. What is this? Some kind of barrier, I think. But no matter, if this is what is keeping the girl in this state, and my servant in hers, I will have to strike it down. I bring down my sword heavy on her, but the metal doesn't seem to touch anything. The _thing_ had turned into a silver mist and the room was once again light.

           Kashiwagi looked at the girl, but since she did not move, she stared at me. A question formed in her eyes. I did not know how to answer. How could I say that I did not know what had happened? There is only one solution for this. Because the girl may pose a threat to the Western Lands, I would have to kill her. I place the Tenseiga into its sheath and I draw another sword. This is a demon sword, just as the Tenseiga, but it isn't special, just capable of slicing the thickest youkai skin without a problem. Though the wench seems to be under some kind of spell, there is no spell on her, that I see, which protects her fragile skin. I walk toward the girl and raise the sword, preparing it for a quick, clean slice.

           But a tug on my arm stops me. "No! Sesshoumaru-sama, please no!" Kashiwagi is trying to prevent me from committing this death. This halts me for a moment.

           "Are you a fool? Do you realize that something unknown can bring down the whole Western Lands? Do not be an idiot. She is just another human, her life means nothing!"

           "I know that Sesshoumaru-sama! But it is disrespectful to her to die so barbarically. Please, after a few months, she will die of starvation, or some other natural cause. And what if she wakes up? Then she could tell us of the unknown. Besides, not only has it just been two days since she fell, like you had said, she is just another human, how can she be the downfall of the Western Lands?"

           "But, neither me nor you, nor anybody else has a use for her, why do you even bother to save her. You are disrespectful to yourself because a human deserves no respect!"

           "But please, Sesshoumaru-sama! Just give her a single room to sleep in, a little one. I'll do the cleaning there everyday if I have to. But, please, let her die of natural causes. Or, if she is still, somehow alive, in a year and a half, you can use her for the sacrifice, and I will not stop you."

           The word sacrifice rang in my mind a few times. Of course! Why had I been so stupid as to simply throw a gift like this away? I turn around. "Do as you please" I tell her as I walk out of the room, putting my sword back into its sheath. I stop in the hallway. I turn around once more. "Why?" I whisper, knowing that she is able to hear me.

           "She is too pure." She says and returns to sobbing uncontrollably.

           The answer to my problems has arrived. Years ago, because the Fourth Miko had not been found for the Western Lands, the world had been unbalanced. Every half decade a sacrifice was to be made, to keep the balance unnoticed. But, the sacrifice had to be a human close to the Lord at the time. That is why I had always had one servant of mine human. But, about three years ago, during the last sacrifice, my servant was sacrificed as usual, and I had once again searched for a human to reclaim its status somewhat near me. This servant had been a girl of fourteen, now sixteen and was currently Rin's personal servant. Losing her would have been very bad for Rin, and I had not thought of finding another human to take her place as the sacrifice. I wouldn't be able to stand another one anywhere close to me, nor, as I see now, grow even remotely attached to her in the next few years.

           But now, this girl, Kagome who is already fairly 'close' to me, as my late brother's mate, who is currently unawares to her doom, would be perfect for delaying the search for another servant by quite some time. Rin would be safe as well, and I would not have to deal with her for some time in addition to the future servant.

           But, something clicked. My late brother's mate? There was certainly something wrong with that. Her soul is indeed one of the purest I had come upon, even for a demon of royal status, and there wasn't a single mark on her. Come to think of it, hadn't my brother chosen the walking corpse over this girl? I fix the problem, turning the mate part into 'companion'. She was my late brother's companion, I think as I continue on my way to wherever my feet take me.

~One Year, Four months and Seventeen Days Later~

           In a dull gray, small room equipped with only a see-through glass coffin with a silver base, a single servant cleans the window. She glances at the fogged up glass. Over a year's time had passed and the glass was no longer see-through due to the million or so breaths the sleeping miko had taken. Miraculously, the miko was still alive and breathing after such a long period of time.

           Kashiwagi sighed. "I'm afraid, little miko, that no matter how many times you live or die in that coffin, as long as you are still breathing, I cannot save you from an unnatural death. I do not know what Kami-sama is thinking about, but it seems, that you, miko, are not natural. Tomorrow, during the Gisei no Iwai, I fear that some force from above wishes you to die an uncivil death. Gomen. Dounimo." She said as she left the room. But even though those words were spoken, the miko's heart still beat as she took another breath.

~Sesshoumaru's Study~

           Bouen and I wait in pure silence for the conformation from Kashiwagi. The door to my study creaks open as the nervous servant enters the room.

           "Is she still alive?" I ask her, hoping for her answer to be 'hai' as it was yesterday and the day before, for the last week and a half.

           Her scared eyes focus on my own as she responds with a nod. "Hai" she whispers. Such sweet melody my ears have hardly ever heard.

           I turn to Bouen. "Then, is it fine?"

           "Hai" she says. Such a peaceful day it is, that everyone sings the same wonderful song.

           "All preparations have been made. The Three other Lords and their Miko's are here as well. Outside of your castle, some five villages are waiting and another three will arrive tomorrow along with anyone that wishes to see the sacrifice. The food has been prepared as well, all of the cooks are busy and the villagers have brought their own offerings. The Youkai, even the slime balls of the darkest corner have agreed on your five-day peace offering, as long as you will give them one day without your patrolling the grounds. This of course, simply means that you will not harm them for one day if they do not hurt anyone for five, no problems there since only one or two take advantage of that. All decorations are ready, and the only thing we need is for the celebration to actually take place." Bouen read her report.

           "Good, very good." Because I had captured the miko at the end of fall, beginning of winter, the good weather of spring made itself known as the world regained its color once again. Everything seems perfect. I will not make the same mistakes my father did. After all, this is how the hanyou came to be in the first place. The sacrifice was Inuyasha's mother. Unfortunately, Inu taisho had fallen in physical and even partially emotional love with the stupid woman and had sacrificed my mother's closest servant instead. What a disgraceful being my father was. I shall never follow in such muddy footprints. Disgusting. Right now, I live in peace, and I do not take peace for granted. Tomorrow the ceremony will take place, and I shall be done with it. All of it, and I shall live in peace once again, for five years.

~One Day Later~

           I was once again sitting in my study. Bouen nodded to me and I stood up, ready to face the yelling screaming, shrieking, bawling, screeching, crying (a/n not in the teary way), shouting crowds below the balcony. Everything was set, and everyone was here. The only thing missing was me. But, I did not want to be there; my sensitive ears have already had enough. "Quiet them down first" I tell Bouen. She nods with understanding.

           As she leaves for the balcony, I find it amusing and very ironic at the amount of people who had shown up for the ritual. Humans simply love to see death. That is very curious about them. Usually, when someone dies by the hand of a youkai, or even another human, they scream and shout and cry, but in a different way. But at a ritual or even at a village hanging, they seem to enjoy the victim's last reach for air or a criminal's neck breaking. Fools.

           The crowds seemed quiet at last. I look at the other Three Lords. With them are their mates and Mikos. But with me, I have a human child and her human servant. The first Lord, Lady, and Miko enter the balcony. They are of the North. The crowd whistles for a moment and the next trio enters, then the next. Rin, who had never seen this celebration before, clutches my clothing and looks at me with fearful eyes. "Stop, Rin." I tell her and she lets go, transferring to Shizuka, her servant of Eighteen [years].

           As the crown quiet's from the Southern Lord's entrance, I step out into the light, followed by the two humans. The cheering once again erupts from the crowd, and I raise my hand to quiet them down. My ears were greeted by Silence. I took a small breath to begin my speech.

           "Greetings, great inhabitants of the Western Lands. As well as the Greats from All of the other Lands," I gesture to the three trios behind me and the crowd erupts in cheer once more. "Throughout time, it is we, The Western Lands, who have had to pay the price for this world's balance. And we take upon this Burden as well as Honor, gladly. Kami-sama. I hope you are listening to the cries of your people today and continue to search for the Fourth. In return, we give this sacrifice to you today as our hope that She is to be found soon, and for the balance to be returned to us once more." The crowd erupted in such Sound, all at once, my ears were about to burst. I, myself yelled out, 'Proceed' to Bouen, so the ceremony would to start. She nodded in return.

           Suddenly, the Three Mikos rose simultaneously and began to chant an eerie youkai-chant that these Three have perfected over time, The Music of the Immortals. Meanwhile, the previously concealed 'coffin' of the sleeping girl rose up, 100 feet above the crowd and the Three Mikos circled around it. "What is this some kind of joke? How can a dead person be offered? This is a disgrace!" The Lady of the Southern Lands spoke up.

           I look at her, understanding the misunderstanding. "The girl inside is quite alive, but is in a forever sleep of some kind. I, Sesshoumaru, would never offer a dead being to the great Kami."

           "Of course, Lord Sesshoumaru, excuse my mistake." I do not give her an answer. She is not the only one that is confused. I could hear whispered conversations below, even from the humans.

           The Three Miko's on the other hand, continue with their ritual, hearing the steady heartbeat from within the fogged-up coffin. They Sing and they circle in midair, giving the spectators something to think about other than the mystery of the coffin. One-minute passes, then another. Finally, Bouen joins them, still in the balcony. Her words are different, but they are very important, for they open our eyes to the unbalance. Slowly, a window to the unbalance of this world appears. It is the vast emptiness. But, if this emptiness is unbalanced, it will turn on the whole world of ours. That is why we need the sacrifice, to take place of the Fourth Arrow.

           The Three Mikos return to the balcony, and prepare to shoot. They grab their Immortal-made bows of the Great Wood, and draw a single arrow from each of the three quivers. Each made by the very hands of the Great Kami-sama. They stop singing, and Bouen is left alone. Her words, still in the Immortal Language, remain eerie and musical as ever. The window finally reaches its maximum size and the First Miko fires her first arrow. The window decreases in size. The Second Miko fires her arrow. The window is reduced to the size of a door.  The third arrow shrinks it to the size of a small square.

           Now it is time for the sacrifice to change into an arrow and close the window entirely. Usually, it takes a small moment for it to change. The Three Miko's utter a small note, which rises to a very loud echo. Nothing happens. "She is dead!" The Southern Lady cries. I look at her. All of a sudden, a loud crash is heard. Glass is breaking. I think that the arrow couldn't escape the coffin and shattered the glass, but I am surprised with a human-looking hand sticking out of it. A purple blast shatters the rest of the glass, and the girl inside lowers her hand. I could not see her face, but it definitely was not my late brother's companion. The creature, back turned to me, created a bow out of pure energy as well as an arrow and shot it into the small window. The window closed and the bow disappeared. The Southern Lady gasped. "No, it can't be!"

           The whole coffin disappears as a blast of purple energy erupts from the sitting girl. She sits in midair; her too-small, beige kimono hangs tightly on her well-figured body. She stretches her legs and turns to me. Stares at me. No, it couldn't possibly be my brother's companion. Her black hair had white streaks and her eyes turned silver. Her hands supported things that looked like claws. No, she was definitely not youkai, nor was she human. She floated towards the balcony and sat by my side, moving Rin to her lap. She stared at me with her silver eyes, as though unable to speak. I could have gasped myself, just then. Her eyes, they had the same dead look as the girl had. Her hands had no claws, but long fingernails that she hadn't cut for over a year. And her hair had grown; the white streaks were simply there signifying stress or old age, or some other human disadvantage. This had to be her. She coughed twice, blood displaying on her pale hands. She wiped it on her beige kimono.

           "The Fourth Miko has awoken." A voice whispered to my left. I stared at the silver girl who owned the voice; it was the guardian of the spell. "Treat her well." She said as she left. I did not know what to do. How was I to explain all this? Meanwhile, the three trios were confused as well and not to mention Rin who was worried about the silver eyed girl that held her in her lap. The Fourth Miko once again coughed and wiped away the blood. She looked as if she were about to faint. "Come girl. Rin, Shizuka. We leave. Bouen, fix this." I stand up; the curious gazes from about 5,000 spectators follow my movements on the balcony. Once inside, the girl tried to walk instead of float, but failed miserably and hit her head against the cold floor. She stood up and continued to float. The words, _Treat her well_, repeated in my mind.

Vocab

Youkai: demon

Miko: Priestess

Kami: God

Gisei: Sacrifice

No: of

Iwai: Celebration/ Festival

Gomen: Sorry

Dounimo: Nothing can be done

Hai: Yes

Hanyou: Half Demon

Shizuka means peace and quiet, for all those who care to know.

Sp: Okay That took long enough

Brian:  Only 'cuz u suck a typing

Sp: -.-*

Brian: Yup, and you suck a writing too

Sp: -.-*****

Brian: No ideas in your head

Sp: -.-*********

K: Watch it she's gonna blow…

Brian: And too much homework from all ya teachers

SP: AHHHHHHH RYUU-FURAIPAN-UTSU! [dragon frying pan attack]

Brian: X_X

Sp: He never dies does he…

K: Anyway, see you next time!

Responses to Reviews:

**Sesshoumaru13**: Thank You, and no, It is Brian C…..no.. well, I dunno if I can give you his whole name, so just stick with brian, mai friend YEAH!

**Me-dreaming-zzz**: Hmm, that's a toughie, I think she does look Western Style 'cuz when I drew her (I usually draw my characters.. ^-^ like to draw) she did look Western style, so… I don't know, you choose. And, about S/K , I've grown tired of reading fic about Sesshoumaru just letting Kagome stay at his castle, so I thought maybe it would be a bit more fun to make him forced to let her stay ^-^

**Kayrin**: Thx! I do that sometimes, which is why I wrote about it. People think I'm weird when I tell them I 'ignore' pain…so… yeah, it does add to mystery. Hey, you should try it to! Just go outside, hurt yourself and convince yourself you didn't harm anything. XD

**Inudemoness247**: ::few days after your review:: I updated YAY ::claps:: ^-^ thx for staying with mai story!

That it

yawn

Okay, now to go to Document manager. ::Drags Brian off the stage::

~Spoken

Ja Ne


	5. Bloody Silk

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I'M BACK

After a while, I am finally ready to write more chapters, two chapters in one day (my other story) whew, I'm tired

Well, it's my way of saying sry…explanations in my other story, now, to the chappie

Disclaimer: I do not own [most of] the characters in chapter five of this fanfic and in chapter 17 of my other fic [kind of forgot the disclaimer there] … but, I wish I did

Death, Emotion, And Everything In Between

Chapter Five

She is sitting. She is staring. She is annoying. Those three sentences have been pulling at me for at least fifteen minutes, and they only lead to the end of the world.  Sitting, Staring and being very Annoying. Silence is knocking on my door. I was ready to rip the chair I was sitting on, as well as the bed she was occupying, into shreds the eye cannot see. Before. She Coughed. The Silence was chased away by sound and the soft aroma of fresh blood. Good, now I am free to question the zombie.

"Who are you"? She coughs in response; her too small kimono receiving new stains.

"Did you not hear me?"

"I am." She begins, her voice barely even registered as a whisper. Her sentence was cut off by new redness on her clothing. "I am the Fourth Miko."

"That is not what I am asking! Who are you? Are you her? Are you Kagome, or are you something or someone else?"

"Ka…Kagomay." The new words appear on her tongue, slightly different from mine.

"Are you Kagome?"

"Yes. I. Kagomay. No. I am Kagome." She fixed herself. This is getting tiresome.

"How are you alive"

"Can we, Lord Sesshoumaru, talk," Her eyes widened and mouth emitted another cough. Her hand now completely red, "later" she finished with a gasp and fainted onto the bed. My Bed. What an idiot I am. Bringing her to my chambers, followed by Rin and Shizuka (both of which were now in their own rooms). This is very tiresome. And I'm quite sure I've said that already, making me very annoyed. I can't stand people that state the obvious, repeat themselves and Kami save those that repeat the obvious.  Kami must be feeling very generous today. I am not one that would kill him[self] or herself and headaches can be ignored. But. This Miko, this being of complete Power cannot be. And all she seems to do is cough blood and say her own name wrong. Yes, Kami, you are so very generous.

I stand up, unable to control my anger and boredom, a very dangerous pair when allowed to run wild. Also very pathetic. I rise and leave the room, hearing the door slam and complain about the roughness of its opening. I need to find someone, one that can reassure me that I am not the victim of some poorly planned plot meant for my downfall. I hear my sword clattering and hitting against my armor, also complaining about something, perhaps my current speed, or the fact that I do not know where I am going. If truth be told, everything is complaining. And as ruler of everything that complains, I myself am not allowed to do so. Annoying little trinkets, little toys that Kami plays with for his enjoyment.

In my haste to get nowhere I forgot to think about somewhere. That somewhere being where I am now. And so, I almost knocked over Bouen. But of course, Bouen! If she didn't know what was happening then no one could know. She, a bit shaken, stares at me, as if waiting for something. 

"Is something wrong, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Wrong?" I question her stupidity, "Oh, nothing's wrong! Just- just tell me one thing," I say, my voice strained and my hand movements uncontrolled. "Isn't it true that the Fourth Miko is a being of Power and such a being that no disease nor injury can halt it?"

"Yes, by legends, that is correct."

"Okay. Then tell me why this being is coughing up blood of immense proportions onto my previously stainless sheets?"

"Ah, but that is no disease" she says in her usual calm, and knowing voice. No window is open, and yet her cloak flutters, as an unseen breeze stirs the cloth. She looks up, "What she suffers from is simply that which consumes the soul itself, an injury eyes cannot see. It is the bleeding of the Heart. Though Kagome had undergone some changes, her soul remains almost the same. The knowledge of the World did not change it, and meanwhile, the leak remains, the hole from which bits of her soul still seep through and come out as drops of blood on silk."

"Because the blood is real, where it comes from must also be real, ergo, the place is somewhere the eye can see."

"Really and truly? If that is so, please follow me." She turns away, swiftly and surely and leads me back to the room of the Miko's current residence. My own room, to be precise. "My Lord, if what you say is true, and the blood is in fact, real, then, where is it?"

She smoothes out the ruffled silk where the Miko had previously fallen and lifts her to a comfortable position.

"Well it." I glance at the bed. There was no sign of the red drops. "It. It. It was right here." I point to a spot. "And here." I point at another spot.

"But where is it now?"

"I. I." I stutter once more.

"Did you not find it curious that there were no markings of blood on her beige kimono. That they always seem to fade away? Yes, this is truly the Miko. Her white strands signify knowledge and the strain of the world on her shoulders. Her enlengthened claws signify being the Fourth Miko, the Possession of the Western Lands. And this blood signifies a pain so deep, that though it seems to fade away, all it does, is remain hidden from prying eyes."

She pointed at the beige kimono. "akehirogeru" and almost instantly, the entire kimono turned red, as though splattered by a paint of some kind. And still, the red's true self was revealed to me by its scent. Blood. And lots of it. "Kakusu" she muttered, and the fabric returned to its beige state and the stench of her blood drifted of to the shadows of the room.

"As you can see, this pain never fades and only becomes stronger, enveloping her entire being. This also must have happened before she transformed. My Lord, I do not know what she suffers from; it is you that has to find out. Search her mind thoroughly and only then can you save her."

"I am no mind reader, Bouen, you know that already."

"I did not say anything about _reading_ her mind."

"But then how?"  
           "Be patient, you will know what to do when she recovers some of her strength, but for now, tend to yourself."

"I am not hurt."

"Yes, but you have a whole celebration going on without your presence. The Lords and Ladies are waiting for an explanation, as are your people. Do not forget who you are Sesshoumaru-dono." I turn on her quickly.

'The celebration! How could I have forgotten?' I rush to the room, which holds the balcony. Rin and Shizuka were both there as well, Shizuka trying to calm Rin down and at the same time assure the Lords and Ladies that I would be returning momentarily. Almost an entire half an hour had gone by without my attendance and even the cheerful spectators were wary. When I entered the balcony the rulers immediately bombarded me with questions all about the Miko. I raise my hand and the masses below, as well as the Lords, quiet down.

"My people." I address the inhabitants of the Western Lands. "Rejoice and celebrate, the quest for the Fourth Miko is finished, she is now among us. I implore all of you to take a moment and send a prayer of thanks to the great Kami-sama who has found a being in the midst of ourselves pure enough to be regarded as the strongest being second only to Kami himself." After a moment passed of complete silence.  I decided to leave the balcony for I anticipated an immense cheer and I highly doubted that my ears would stand any more strain. My people did indeed holler and cheer, but all my thoughts were on the Miko. If she died, the sacrifices would start again and I might have a rebellion on my hands.

I planned on returning to the Miko's side and ponder what I would have to do when I heard the Lords and Ladies as well as Miko's and both of my humans follow my footsteps. I sighed and prepared myself to explain everything that had happened.

"Sesshoumaru." It was the Lady of the Southern Lands who spoke first. "Has she truly awoken?"

"Yes" was my reply.

"How are you sure?"

           "Wasn't the arrow she pulled out of midair enough? If you remember the myth correctly, Kami-sama only fashioned three bows and three quivers full of never ending arrows. At first, people thought that he was only searching for three Mikos and their suspicions were solidified when the Fourth was not found. That is when he explained that the Fourth Miko would be the most powerful since her fourth arrow would be the one to close the window to the unbalance. She would be powerful enough to create a bow and arrow out of pure energy. Even the most powerful mortal Mikos of today are only able in transferring some of their power into their arrows, not even these three," he gestured to the Mikos (who appeared calm though their Lords were shaken) "can do such a feat."

           "I understand that, but perhaps there was another sacrifice in there and that person had turned into an arrow-"

           This time I did not control my outrage, " Are you suggesting that what you saw was some sort of trick that I staged? I cannot believe-"    

"No, Sesshoumaru, you misunderstand. I just see no proof that she has awoken and cannot rejoice for this seemingly positive and wonderful matter until I see some."

"Mistress, she is genuine" one of the Miko's spoke,

"We three are a family-" said another and the last continued

"And can sense each other-"

"As our own flesh and blood."

"She is powerful"

"And true"

"And steadily weakening."

At that all of the Lords and Ladies looked at me questioningly. This time it was the Lord of the East that spoke.

"Steadily weakening? Sesshoumaru, what are you trying to hide from us?"

"Do tell." Grinned the Lord of the North.

"I can assure you that I will get this under control, the Miko has lost a lot of blood and has been bedridden for over a year-"

"That is not the cause"

"No, she weakens internally."

"Lack of proper food harms her physical body, but not psychologically" 

"She is losing"

"Her self"

"Her essence"  
           "Her soul"

"Her knowledge of who she is"

"And if this is allowed to continue"

"She shall die"

"Become a soulless apparition"

"A phantom of her shadow and-"

"The search will begin anew"

"Yes, yes", I said to the Mikos signaling them to shut up, "That is all true, but I am determined to save her so that no more of my close servants and companions would ever have to be sacrificed again." Like I care about the pathetic humans. It is the vision of the monarch that I am expected to project so that the villages would not revolt. "Now, I bid adieu to you fine gentlemen and ladies as I have to check on the Miko now, so she will not _die_ in her sleep." I say my voice suffocated with sarcasm. I continue on my journey toward her room, I hear the Lords and Ladies return to the festivities. Now, only two pairs footsteps remain behind me. I turn to face my ward and her servant.

"What is it Rin?"

"She won't die, Sesshoumaru-sama. She won't."

"No, Rin." I look at Shizuka.

"Yes milord, we will return to the celebration, come Rin."

"She can't die. She needs to stop bleeding. Sesshoumaru, promised Rin she won't die!" The little child argues with what was once said by the Third Miko, or was it the Second? 'No Rin, she won't die, I will not let it continue. So you won't die either.'

Very little vocabulary here

Akehirogeru: Kind of means, reveal

Kakusu: This means conceal

That's about it, now for reviews:

**Kayrin: **Thanks, and if you see anyone from the mental hospital, tell them you don't know me, and have no idea who I am… which is true… someone must have called the cops... or the mental place after my last response ::grins:: . ^.^ .

**MidnightDragonShadow**: Sorry for the delay, first I had a homework overload.. for like half a month then got sick for three weeks then had to cram two weeks worth of homework throughout a week…. Then… well, now's bout then…

**UnlovedBandNerd**: well, I think this chapter kind of explains the blood part, thx for reading my story… ooh... if ure in a band (glances at penname) then what instrument do u play? I took piano lessons when I was really little, then I took up the clarinet… and now… I can still play the clarinet... but I forgot to attend my school's junior orchestra on day one due to the fact that my new school… has orchestra where people bring their own instruments and I only own a keyboard a recorder and two mouthpieces…okay, I'll stop right there…

**Crazy-Mango-Chick1**: My Japanese knowledge comes directly from the internet (Brian: She means she doesn't know any Japanese but found a really good dictionary site and is learning it from there) o.0; Yeah, whatever he said, if you want to know what site, email me, I don't want the document manager to go haywire from the link.

**Sesshoumaru13**: ::sigh:: I don't have his permission, but I doubt you know him,. His name is Brian Campos, he's a really good friend of mine and I manipulate his personality (he let me) in short sentences 'cuz he was the one that made up the title, so he acts like a mini muse.

B: Mini Muse my ass, I'm so taller than you

Sp: our hair dumbo, we are technically the same height. See we can have a staring contest standing up, and our eyes would more or less be level…. Besides like Quachie said, you have a bid head (quachie= another friend)

(B& SP stare)

Kagome:  hehe, well, next chapter will be out soon, once spoken has an idea in her head… other than staring contests

Spoken: what do you mean an idea, this is great, I always win, see his eyes are watering

B: Are not

Sp: Are too

B: So not

SP: RYUU-FURAIPAN-UTSU!!! Take that you sleazy jerk you lose.

Join us next time, and maybe Brian will finally die…

Probably no.t..

(Kagome grins)

K: Now, review please, yes, that's the purple button, right there…

~Spoken

Ja Ne


	6. Mysterious Reflections

(a/n) OmG! I am soooo pissed. I forgot that I didn't update chapter six, so now I have to rewrite it… after half a year passed! At least I still remember how it goes…. Anyway, this first chapter after a period of not writing fics will be kinda weird, 'cuz I'll have to get used to the writing style used here and rethink my writing style that I've been using for my English short story (school thing).

ALSO… the intervals between chappies will probably be more than a week (ill try hard though) because I am currently on a volleyball club. So on Tuesdays and Fridays, I'll be traveling from Manhattan to Brooklyn back to Manhattan back home. And will have no time to write in between. Plus all of the tournaments on weekends.

SOOO… huge workload, but Ill manage, I always manage.

Without further delay….

Disclaimer: I own them all…

…not really….

Death, Emotion, And Everything In Between

Chapter Six

My footsteps echo, soft vibrations on cold floor. She had been removed from my quarters and has not awoken since. Three days passed. And I hear the noiseless echoes once more. One hallway, two hallways, three hallways, four pass and I enter the cool blue chamber. Rin had demanded she be put in a room with a view of the gardens. Not like it mattered- being asleep, she is in a garden of her own.

After the Ladies and Lords departed, and the mess of a ritual cleaned up, I am finally free of the nonsense burdens to meet another burden of equal nonsense. It is my duty as a Lord to check up on my Miko. And I am a Lord who does his duty without question. Unfortunately.

This time, unlike the two previous 'check ups' I know she is awake. I can sense it. I open the door and just as I foretold, She is stilling on the bed holding up a chokugaku. The History of the World.

"Lord Sesshomaru," she says without looking up, "what do you know of the world?"

I hesitate. 'What kind of question is this?' " _In the beginning of time there were demons. And these demons ruled the world known as the Oukoku no Asahi. Eventually, the time of the ancient kingdom ended and from these demons came another species. The species was known as humans_" I recite, watching her face.

"Is that all? Is this what you truly believe to be the history of the world?" she asks, a half-smile on her face.

"There is no other truth to deny this one its reality."

"That is the proper reply is it not. Of course, this is not the truth. Nor is it true that humans evolved from bacteria, as the scientists of my other time believe." She grins a half-grin. It seemed she could only do things half way, as if she does not remember the whole way, the proper way, of doing something.

"What is this 'your time'?"

"Something I will never explain to you. Or I will explain it to you sometime in the future, which is precisely the explanation."

"Enough of your inane talk. There is something you must explain to me. More than a year has passed since I asked this of you. And more than a year has passed in which I could not answer this question-"

"What happened to Inuyasha?" She looks into my eyes. Her pupils become unfocused. She erupts in an uncontrolled fit of coughing and for a moment my mind recalls the stained kimono Bouen had revealed to me. A servant of mine enters the room with a cup of cool water as though receiving a mental call from me. The Miko gratefully accepts and drinks it as quickly as she could without spilling a drop. After she finishes, the servant removes himself from my sight, bowing, and she once again looks into my eyes.

"Sesshoumaru, I have not the strength today. Leave my room, come back tomorrow. Tomorrow I shall tell you of your brother. Today, I must rest." She pleads with her tired, once human now Immortal, eyes.

"No. I have waited long enough. Today I must have answers, not tomorrow."

"I am afraid you must wait one more day."

"I told you. No."

She sighs, a breath of air with sound. "Sesshoumaru, your brother is neither Dead nor Alive. He is one or the other, but we do not know. Be content with that. Tomorrow, I shall show you. Today, you wait. Now leave." She turns away from me, smothering her coughs so I would not hear them. But I do. I am _always_ listening.

"Fine, Miko. I shall return tomorrow. But do not think this insolence will go unnoticed. You may be powerful, but you are the possession of the Western Lands. And I rule the Western Lands. Therefore, you are mine." I walk briskly and slam the door shut. Outside, Bouen is waiting for me, along with Rin and Shizuka.

"Temper, temper, Sesshoumaru-dono." Bouen whispers under her breath as she enters the Miko's room.

"Sesshoumaru-sama" Rin pipes up, "will Kagome-san come out to play today?"

"No Rin, play with Shizuka. The Miko will have no visitors until I have my answers. Shizuka," I direct my attention to the other girl, "take Rin out to the gardens. Stay there until I say otherwise.

"Yes m'lord" The shy girl replies. "Come Rin."

"But Shizuka-chan…" The girl's complaints continue as I leave the hallway. One hallway… two hallways... six hallways…and so on my feet continue.

Sesshoumaru, One Day Later

My thoughts had been on the troublesome Immortal ever since she had won the verbal battle with this Sesshoumaru. As promised, I return to her chambers. Her room is in something Rin likes to call 'The Color Wing', each room dedicated to one of the seven colors of the world. I call it 'The Guest Chambers'. The Miko's room was chosen primarily because of its garden view, but also because it was the only one fit for a Miko. Each of the Chambers is decorated with a certain design. Red has room for two futons for a couple, Orange is placed to receive a view of the sunset, Yellow, opposite Orange, is placed to receive the first lights. Green alongside its neighbor, Blue, has a view of the palace Gardens, and is decorated with paintings and assortments of flowers, and Purple has a balcony fit for viewing the evening sky. The room opposite Purple, the eighth room, is under a spell to change from white to grey to black, honoring lack of colors, presence of colors and a mix of the two. This room has no name, though it is sometimes called the "Mystery of the Old World", and its fixtures vary among the occupants. ( A/N think of this as a long hallway, red at the end of it, its door facing the hallway, not the other wall, yellow opposite orange, green and blue opposite a storage closet and a shared bath, and purple opposite the 'room without a name')

But it is the Blue one, Green's neighbor, which is the only room with weapons. A bow with a quiver of arrows is displayed on one wall, the other three with swords, shields, and spears. But it is specially designed to have full view of the gardens as well. Its nickname was known to me to be 'The Balanced Room', having both the fruits of death as well as of life.

I slow down as I reach this famous corridor of mine, preparing myself for the long-awaited answers. The questions have haunted my person for far too long and I am anticipating their demise. I step into Her room, and see her once more reading a chokugaku. Upon closer inspection, it was not a scroll she was holding, but a childish misrepresentation of what was supposed to be a handful of flowers. 'Rin.' I think to myself with annoyance. 'That girl will be lectured if I have to see to it myself.'

"She's so adorable. That girl." The Miko speaks up. "I never knew you had one."

"Enough, Miko. Do you have my answers?" I move toward the raised futon. (A/N I prefer to use raised ones in my imagination and stories… I just can't see them sleeping on the ground, and I need them raised so they can sit on the bed without having to sit on the floor. Please overlook this). "What happened to the idiotic relative of mine?"

"I don't know." Her answer crashed down like a sea would on rocks. Very sharp rocks…that can move. My eyes went uncontrolled for but a moment as my rage surfaced.

"Do not think, Miko, though you cannot die from mortal wounds, that they would not hurt."

"Sesshoumaru, I do not need your threats right now. No one knows what happened to your brother. It is a mystery that I have to solve. I shall show you what I mean if you bring the shards of your brother's sword." She replies, thinking her words through.

"Then I shall send for them." As though on cue, a servant appears in the room. "Bring me the shards of Tetsusaiga, in the Southern Armory. The servant nods and leaves the room. I turn my attention to the woman-girl on the bed. "I expect, Miko, that you would also be able to fix this sword. My father's fang is valuable to me, whether or not I am able to wield it."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sesshoumaru, you will wield it. I will make sure you do." She smiles her half smile once more. How irritable it seems to me now. If the girl wants to smile, she ought to do it the entire way, not as though her lips were strung together to that half-way limit. It looks like a ghost is smiling through her. "It is the only way…." she continues.

My servant enters through the door, carrying a dusty leather bound case. I motion him to leave us immediately, and he does so, bowing the entire way through. I open the long, dusty case and inside, among blue dusty velvet lies my father's broken fang. It seemed only yesterday, to me, that I had challenged my brother's inheritance claim. And now the pieces I hold are all that is left from a time long forgotten and forever remembered in the deep chambers of my mind. Where my brother was, it seems is tied into the very thing I coveted from him.

The girl sits upright in her bed, motioning me to help her get up. I lay the sword on the bed and grab her, as gently as I would allow myself to, pulling her to her feet. She steadies herself, her feet resuming their floating and I once more pick up the broken sword. She takes the hilt out of the box and takes my hand in her free hand. Softly, I hear her begin chanting words.

"Ai. Kai. Jakuten. Kyoujaku. Giman. Torasuto. Shisei. Inbi. Toki no Fairu. AKU!( A/N I know it's a hassle to look all of these up in the vocabulary list, so here they are first: Love. Mystery. Weakness. Strength. Deceit. Trust. Devotion. Obscenity. Files of Time. OPEN!) Suddenly two golden spheres of light surround us and the sword begins to glow a similar shade. The Miko chants the same words over and over again, the spheres circling us to the pace of her chant. "Ai. Kai. Jakuten…" Her mouth starts moving in an unearthly speed such that I am no longer able to make out her words or the golden blurs. All at once the golden spheres disappear, and the Miko stops chanting, two soft syllables escaping her lips, signifying the end of the unknown spell. "Kirai."

The hilt she was once holding had melted in with the shards from the box that for some reason was no longer in my hand. She is holding Tetsusaiga, in its transformed state, struggling with the weight her weak body could not withstand. I release her hold and steady her hand with my own. She pushes the sword into my arm. I grasp it, feeling its burn. The sword heated up to a point where even this Sesshoumaru would have dropped it, but slowly cooled down to a warm touch which then subsided.

She put her finger to her lips and motioned to our surroundings. We are definitely not in her chambers. It looks to me, like we are in some sort of clearing. A familiar feeling enters my mind '_where I found Her'_. Sure enough with but a moment's pass, a girl formerly known as Kagome enters the clearing. With her, a small pup. The girl, previously running, had stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Kagome, don't look back, keep running," yells the pup at her. The girl is wearing a ragged green and white slut-style kimono topped off with a ripped red tie. She is panting with several bruises on her face.

"No, Shippo," she addresses the little kitsune, "I've got to help them."

"Kagome! Inuyasha'll take care of it, now c'mon!" argues the pup, himself out of breath."

From the corner of my vision I detect movement in the skies. The monk and taijiya were flying on a firecat. "Kagome!" the woman calls down, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," the girl yells back.

"Kagome-san, you mustn't linger, Inuyasha is up ahead." the monk speaks up.

Grumbling to herself she turns around and resumes her running. The pup behind her gives an encouraging smile which falls as the girl trips over a rock. She tries to stand up; seeming thoroughly exhausted, and falls back down.

"C'mon Kagome, what's wrong?" the pup returns to her.

"My leg, I twisted it."

"Here, try to crawl." The pup tries to pull her away from the clearing. "Grab the branch!" he motions to the tree in front of them.

"Thanks, Shi-" I could no longer hear what she would have said, the battle between the Kairi-youkai and my half brother was about to bring itself to the clearing.

"TAKE THAT YOU BASTARD!" a familiarly irritating voice echoes among the tree tops. I feel the sword in my hand start to glow. "KAZE NO KIZU!"

The beaver dodges the attack, ramming itself into a nearby tree. It quickly bites the trunk and picks the tree up from its base, using it as one would use a thick stick on a fly. Inuyasha cuts the tree in half, then readies himself for another sword technique. "Try dodging this, you bastard! Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha made another attempt at defeating the enormous demon. But, to no avail, the beast being simply pushed back a large distance, using the thick tree to block the worst of the attack.

The enlarged youkai rises and utters an impossibly loud noise consisting of various grunts and moans, then throws the singed tree at Inuyasha, which misses its target completely. Inuyasha then brandishes his sword (in such a manner that I momentarily grimace and swear to myself that I would kill him myself if he ever used any weapon so disgustingly ever again) in an effort to cut the youkai in half.

This mindless endeavor failed my half wit of a brother and the youkai once again erupted in sounds. My brother then dishonorably took advantage of the youkai's ignorant position and took another horribly unskillful swing at it (at which point I had to steady myself in order to not leap toward the insolent little brother and grab the sword out of his hands, after all, if he was going to use it as one would a bundle of sticks, why not give him a bundle of sticks), which once again failed miserably. But this time, my brother did not escape the youkai's attack, the mouth closing on him, front teeth gnawing at the fang.

With a deep yell and a scream, one from my brother, one from the girl in the clearing, the sword broke into the many pieces I had once put into a dusty leather case. My brother's scent immediately changed with the spray of blood the beaver had managed to squeeze out of his side. To think, my father's great fang reduced to pieces at the mouth of some lowly beaver. But the battle was not over. My brother, with a new release of energy, torn open the beast's mouth, its blood coloring the surrounding trees a deep red.

With a sickly smile once the beast was dead, Inuyasha turns toward the clearing where the monk and taijiya had once again appeared, trying to get the girl to sit on the fire cat as though it was merely some horse. He runs swiftly, giving no warning to the trio. The red blur swipes at the fire cat's tails, which will eventually kill it, as a fire cat cannot live without its tails intact.

"Inuyasha! NO!" cries the woman, tears glistening in her eyes, "Kirara!" she grabs the dying beast.

"Oh, no! Sango, Miroku, he's changed! Where's the tetsusaiga?" the girl exclaims, eyes darting and falling onto the bits of the sword, lying at the opposite edge of the clearing. As the red blur dashes in again, this time aiming for the little kistune, who was closest, the girl yells, "Sit!" as loudly as she can and the blur, for a moment stops. Inuyasha growls, and tries to stand up, a rosary holding him to the ground. "Sit! Sit! Sit!" the girl yells again, fright written all over her face, the rosary having no effect on my brother's person. "Sit!" she yells once more, tears in her eyes ready to fall. "sit…" she whispers, barely audible. Inuyasha rises from his little dent in the ground, eyes glowing red. He reaches up for the rosary and once again "sit" is heard as the girl crumbles to the ground. Inuyasha once again is lying on the ground, but this time the girl just stares as he grabs the rosary and pulls it apart, beads and magic scattering to the ground. The girl grimaces.

"Hiraikotsu!" yells the woman, throwing the boomerang at the hanyou. Inuyasha catches it and with lightning speed throws it back. Unable to dodge the taijiya is hit in the stomach, doubling up. She crawls to her pet, gasping for breath, reaches out and grabs the tails, pressing them close to her body.

"Sango!" The monk yells with a helpless look on his face. "I'm sorry Kagome, but-" he plants his staff into the soft ground. "Wind Tunnel!" he yells, directing the sucking vortex towards my brother. Inuyasha rushes toward the monk, ignoring the sucking wind and using his speed propels himself towards the monk.

"Foxfire" is heard as the little kitsune joins in the battle. He scampers over to the girl, who was sitting, a dead look in her eyes. She was determined to ignore her friend's bodies, lying on the ground.

"Inuyasha brushes away the little fox flames and darts towards the monk once more. The monk replaces his own rosaries over the hole in his hand and picks up his staff. He manages to parry a few hits but is inevitably overcome by the demon in front of him. His last swing misses and a hand plunges into his chest. Eyes wide open, he sputters out an apology to the girl sitting in the middle of all the bloodshed and to the one already dead. His heart is ripped out a moment later, and put back into its owner's hands. The lifeless houshi crumbles.

My brother turns once more to face the girl. The kitsune was close to fainting from all the violence that had occurred in front of it. "How could you Inuyasha?" it whimpered, attempted a battle stance it was never taught.

"Stop Shippo! Run away, now!" sobs a broken girl. "Please, go! I can't see you die, my kit. I'll be fine, don't worry about me." She reaches out to embrace the little one. But a blur snatches him out of her hands. Her eyes are pleading to the monster in front of her, not seeing the hands ripping the little kit's stomach, not seeing and not wanting to see.

The kitsune falls to the floor with its own not seeing eyes. My brother grins eerily and licks the blood off his fingers, cracks his knuckles and looks at the girl. She stands up, slowly, watching every twitch and every movement. Inuyasha paces around her, slowly and then faster until she would have probably not been able to see him, with her slow human eyes. Suddenly, he lunges at her from behind, a most cowardly and dishonorable move. She senses this out of instinct and erects a small barrier which causes him to stumble through his attack and miss her. He once again begins pacing, but this time does not speed up. He stares at her, and once in a position facing her, moves in again. He runs, aiming for her neck at such a speed, her reaction was not good enough and his attack hit her almost full in the stomach.

The girl is sent flying toward a tree, and lands not so softly on a root. She is in the position that I found her. I look towards my brother and with momentary shock notice he is no longer there.

I look at the Miko, raising an eyebrow. Suddenly, golden spheres appear again and the scene blurs out of existence. I find myself in her room, the Miko already sitting on her futon. The sword remained in my grasp, but in its untransformed state. She looks at it from her spot on her bed.

"I almost forgot, here." She waves toward the weapon and a blue lights surrounds it, creating a scabbard. I tuck the sword into its place near its sister, Tenseiga and its enemy, Toukijin.

I take a deep breath, all my questions arising. The first one being,

"What was that, woman?"

Vocabulary:

Ai- Love

Kai- Mystery

Jakuten- Weakness

Kyoujaku- Strength

Giman- Deceit

Torasuto- Trust

Shisei-Devotion

Inbi- Obscentiy

Toki no Fairu –Files of time

Aku- open

Kirai- hate

I think that's all of them, the rest you guys should already know….

OMG! I'm finally done, extra long chappie for you guys, that waited an entire year

Whoopee, I'm so glad to be back

Firsty, answers to all of your reviews

**Speakofthedevilsheshallappear- **Well, the rest isn't going to come on any time too soon, sorry, all my weekends are full in February, but I'll try to finish it soon

**Queenanneus-**Thanks for liking my POV thingies, I wanted to explore Sesshy's character a lil', so, yeah

**GoodDaySesshoumaru-** I'm glad you likey it a lot. Makes me happy.

**Rem9-** hitting anyone with frying pans is never cheating, its taking advantage of a situation XD.

**Tomoyo-chan-** Snow White eh… heheheh, I dunno about that, but those are some pretty description words, you're flattering me…

**Kaguya's Chaos-** I know, but Kagome suffers all the time… she's used to it by now, ne?

**Silver Miko-** You know, this will have fluff and all, but its just the beginning, coughing up blood isn't very romantic, but without it there's no story…

**Kayrin-** Wow, I miss you, I hope you'll read my new chappie, sry for being off so long…gotta catch up again.

In regards to my first fic, I'm currently trying to reread it, and all my criticism of all my writing boiled over to the conclusion that it is :crap. So, I think I wil lrewrite the entire thing, keeping the plot, but changing it to make it more realistic (erase all oocness… etc..)

Please be patient with me… o.0;

I think that's it… thanks for reviewing you guys. Any new people, please r/r, I'd really appreciate it if you could give me any advice at all.

Talk to you later, gotta get this uploaded quick

Spoken

Ja Ne


	7. Unwanted Control

(A/N) Well, I promised to update by Tuesday, but quite frankly I haven't had the time I wanted to finish this chappie. I finished it on Wednesday but I didn't want to uplaod without spell checking and proofreading... so here it is...

r/r

Anyway, I've realized that I had not yet talked about Kagome's own time and her family members there, but I will in a future chapter, there IS an explanation, don't worry.

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Until of course I become a billionaire and buy 'em XD 

Death, Emotion, And Everything In Between

Chapter Seven

(Before: I take a deep breath, all my questions arising. The first one being,

"What was that, woman?")

Now:

"Sesshoumaru, don't play stupid. You and I both know what that was. That was a recording from the Files of Time."

"You are mistaken. This Sesshoumaru is not familiar with these 'Files of Time'" I admit, more to myself than her.

"Nothing about the name tells you anything?" she whispers her half grin on her face again. I narrow my eyes. That grin will annoy me to no end. "It is very simple. The Files of Time is a collection of records that show the Universe at any given time and place. They are restricted to Miko access by Kami himself. Think of a library in which there are, instead of books, records of our time and records of other time. You understand?" I nod. "During my 'hibernation', lets call it, I spent large quantities of time reading, or looking, up the world. Not every file, of course, but most of the important ones. However, with my experience with the Files of Time, there seems to be a glitch." She pauses, pain contorting her face as she coughs into her hand. She gasps for breath, the fit taking all of it from her. She reaches for a cup of water my servant had thoughtfully left her on the small table by her bed.

"Gomen" she says between sips. She lays the cup down and turns to face me once more, a reasonable position for the continuation of her explanation. "Sesshoumaru, there is a glitch in the Files of Time and it has to do with your brother. There is only one plausible explanation for all this, but even this one has been said to be impossible." She stares through my eyes. Never has she stared into them, always, it seems to me, she stares through them. "I have reason to believe your brother has been frozen in time." She pauses for a moment to let me absorb this new foolish idea that has crossed her mind.

"Miko, stop playing games. What happened to Inuyasha? Tell me now." This is madness, her toying with this Sesshoumaru? She must have a very determined death wish. "I will have no idiocy in this matter."

"You must listen to me. Your brother's time has frozen. Did you not notice the way he disappeared from the file? From that moment on, your brother ceased to exist. And I have found no explanation other than the one I have already presented to you." Her voice wavers and she brings her hand to her eyes. I can smell the tears falling from the near expressionless face.

"If I do accept this impossibility as conceivable, how did it happen?" I reason with her. "How is it possible to 'freeze' someone in time, as you so cleverly put it?" I try to ask some sense into this wisp of a woman.

"I..I..I don't know." She frantically searches my eyes for the answer.

"Then how is your explanation credible?" I ask, my tone ringing with finality.

"I was trying to figure it all out you know, but a certain sacrificial ceremony interrupted my research and I was forced to leave my work unfinished." She stares daggers at me, each word a penetrating blow. "The only clues I've found were: 'this never happened before', 'Inuyasha no longer exists', and 'Outside help was needed'. My theory is that if we can somehow figure out who stopped Inuyasha's time and reverse the effect, this may bring Inuyasha-"

"Miko. I am to have nothing to do with this." I stare my own daggers back. "Why do you want to reinstate the man who, may I remind you, tried to kill you?"

"It's my duty to him."

"Your only duty is to me." I narrow my already narrowed eyes. "Don't you ever forget that."

"Of course. Sesshoumaru-dono." Her gaze falls. "But, I will not sit by when I can help him. Please Sesshoumaru, help me." The salty substance falls once more. What is it with women, even Mikos. One moment they are as cold and expressionless as a rock but a mere disappointment can turn them into fragile glass. I would have expected more from the Girl with Dead Eyes.

"I will have _nothing_ to do with this." I repeated. "Inuyasha is someone I would rather leave extinct." I said, turning to leave.

"Wait. I said UEITO!" She screams and I find myself unable to move.

"How dare you!" I fight to control my rage. I can smell the fear on her, its scent sickening me. "How dare you use your power over your lord?" I whisper, her dread becoming almost solid. "Release me."

"No." She says.

"You insolent little wench. Release me this instant!" My control is slowly losing and my determination to cut her into many fragments is rapidly winning.

"Not until you agree to help me with my quest." She asks, her own voice ringing finality. I can feel her cross her arms, my position facing the door not allowing me to confirm anything with my eyes. An eternity of moments passed with her hands crossed behind my back, and my rage subsided, replaced by utter annoyance.

"I comply." I mutter, underneath my breath.

"Arigatou" she also mutters and I can feel the Miko's will release me from her command. In a swift moment of my own, I can feel her skin in close proximity with my claws. With my hand around her neck, all she can do is watch with frightened eyes.

"You will never do that again. I will make sure of it." I squeeze her neck harder.

"Sesshoumaru, you…prom..ised" she manages.

"There are no witnesses, who will hold me to it if you die." I can feel my demonic rage affecting my features. "You are despicable."

"You are honorable." She pleads to my depleting sanity.

"And you are not."

"Please Sesshoumaru." She grimaces with pain. I lessen the pressure, my rage reducing once more. To think, The Western Lord riled up by some girl who was human but a year and a half ago. I let go completely. "Why can't you see that this glitch may affect the entire world? The person responsible for this… may choose to wipe another from existence. This is important, and I…I need your help." She says, massaging her neck. She suddenly erupts into another coughing fit, this one a bit shorter than her last and without blood. An improvement on her part, I am sick of its smell.

"I will do as promised, but only if you can find sufficient proof of this matter. I will not be sent on a wild goose chase by a whiff of a Girl without sense." I succeed in reaching the door this time as I turn to leave.

My rage comes back to me for a moment as I shut the door behind me. How could she command her superiors? Surely Kami made a miscalculation in bestowing godly powers in this simpleton. He must have mistaken her for someone else, or perhaps the power in her is only temporary and someone with more sense would take her place. Why does Kami enjoy giving me headaches?

* * *

Sesshoumaru Five Hours or so Later 

I wait for her in my study. She is not one to be late. After thinking a long time about today's events and the Miko's sudden show of power, I felt a need to consult with the only person I had ever trusted to have a bit of wisdom, my personal healer and, as often as not, my personal advisor, Bouen. The one who can 'see from a distance' a prey or the truth is the person to talk to when ones possessions get out of hand. Just as I predicted, she enters my study not a second late.

"Sesshoumaru-dono, you called?" she says, eyes fixed on a point on the ground.

"Sit" I motion towards the seating pillow across from my own. "I have a matter to discuss with you."

"Has Miko Kagome caused you any sort of trouble?" she says, sitting down.

"Sharp as ever, Bouen. The Miko has recently given me a show of her power."

"And you were the one who received the bad end I'm sure." She says, knowingly. I nod.

"I almost killed her." I admit.

"How very fortunate you didn't, though I'm not sure if you have the power to kill an Immortal. It would have been a bother to return to those horrid ceremonies again. Willing human sacrifices are so hard to come by these days." She smiles.

"Yes, well, on the subject of her power. To what extent may she use it against me?"

"Kagome is technically a beginner Miko. No doubt she herself is not aware of all her abilities or responsibilities. She had but a year and a little more to study what the others had centuries to accomplish. You mustn't be too harsh on her, she is still confused and will need some time to get accustomed to obeying you." Her voice was very formal and I felt a suppressed thought coming from her.

"Enough of the basics, I deserve enough credit to think of all that myself, you realize. I ask not of your knowledge, but of your opinion." I sternly reply.

"She is dying." Bouen said softly. "Something is wrong with her and I simply cannot figure it out. I had told you it had to do with her soul and that is true enough. After I revealed to you her bleeding soul, I turned to my books and there I found many conditions in which a soul may be…" she trailed off. She looked up at me from her previous glance at the floor. "Not in any of the books I have thus accumulated in all these years' mentions a bleeding soul like this one. There were one or two mentions in my entire personal library, one of which was the accepted version of a broken soul. '_When a soul bleeds, the carrier is doomed and will separate from its soul in a matter of days_.'" She quotes.

"It has been more than a matter of days and she and her soul are not separate and show no signs of separation." I comment and her nod shows agreement.

"That is indeed true. However, the second mention was one which is a bit closer to our point, but is incredibly vague. '_When you encounter a bleeder, first locate the hole. Once the factor of the hole is replaced, one will have a whole soul.'_ This, I have deciphered, means that something- a necessary element- is missing from her soul and the only way to heal her is to find that element and complete her soul." She finishes

"But what is it that's missing?" I say impatiently.

"That is the problem with old texts. I have no idea." She searched my face for signs of demon rage. But after my 'slip' with the Miko, I have taken extra care not to show any signs of such demeaning expressions.

"I do." I say some level above a whisper. "Bouen, tell me, are you familiar with the phrase 'Files of Time'?"

"No, but, perchance, are they records of time?"

"Yes, exactly, the Files of Time are records of time and I have personally seen an example today. Inuyasha." At this she widens her eyes.

"Your half blooded brother?"

"Yes. I have seen his last moments in this world. According to the recording, it seems his time was frozen by someone. Could this be the cause?"

"The few lines I could quote were so vague, I do not know. But, personally, I believe this is the best idea we've gotten so far."

"Then it appears I will be forced to make do on a promise I had hoped would not be accounted for." I say solemnly.

"Would it be too forward for me to ask what promise you are talking about?"

"Today, while the Miko was exercising her new found power, she forced me to agree in helping her restore my brother's existence." She raises her eyebrow. "Now, as the Miko will most probably die without his existence being renewed, I suppose it is my duty to assist in any way I deem I can."

"I understand, Sesshoumaru-dono. What is it you wish me to do?"

"Well, first, is there anyway to stop the coughing temporarily?" I inquire.

"I suppose, with a little research and perhaps a bit of magic, I will be able to concoct a few potions that would ease the Miko's suffering." She says, her mind already working out the ingredients.

"And is there anyway you can find information on these files of time?"

"I have not been familiar with the term prior to this day, but I can always look around in my library to see if there was anything I overlooked-"

"Use my library as well. I do not like to be involved in things I do not quite understand."

"Of course is there anything else?" she asks, still thinking of ingredients by the expression on her face.

"It would also help if you can make some more of your wonderful potions for the headache." She raises her eyebrow once again.

"I will send some at once."

"Thank you, Bouen, you are free to leave." I say, waving her in the direction of the door, though I am sure she is aware of it. She bows her head and leaves, as gracefully as ever. It seems to me that I have acquired more problems today than reasonable, and all due to a wisp of a Girl. How annoying.

* * *

Vocabulary not much this chappie: 

Gomen- Sorry

Ueito- Wait

Arigatou- Thank You

-dono- used for 'lord'

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Reviews: 

AWWWW There is _only_ one review. T.T you guys disappoint me r/r guys, c'mon, do you know how much time I take to write it for you… :sobs in a corner-; :

THANKS A BUNCH TO SPDSGIRL

You make me feel special because at least I get one review hehe

**Spdsgirl-** Thanks a lot for reviewing and not casting me into a hopeless fit of doom. I suppose I can thank my timing with the story for the lack of reviews, but, anyway… I'm really glad you liked it, though I don't think I deserve your praise. I'm very critical of my chapters, so don't mind the low self esteem-like response. I'm really glad you liked it though, every time I hear that it makes me want to write another chapter immediately. XD Hope you like this chappie too

* * *

Sp: Sorry guys, but I think I'll have to put you on hold. 

Sess: Sorry Spoken, you can't do that.

Sp: I have to, there's nothing in your contract that says if I have to drive three hours to the bottom of New Jersey for a super big tournament I have to also write a chapter about you.

Kag: Actually, if you read the first letter of every word in the fine print… it kinda does.

Sp: ..

(A/N) anyway, guys, I have to sell raffle tckts tomorrow, so I'll try to write tomorrow. I still have to go to the mall to buy my friend a b-day present (on Monday I just went to the movies with my friend, not the mall… oh, anybody want to see In Good Company? Don't. Ever.) and on Saturday I have a huge all day tournament and on Friday I have practice and on sun… that prob when I have to go buy that present… SO I'm gonna try to write tomorrow and Friday and Sunday, but I'll prob. Not be done with the next chapter any of those days… y'know… I'll probably be done with a page (I get um… distracted) so… I'll try, but no promises.

REVIEW!

Spoken

Ja Ne


	8. Shadows

(A/n) Well, I don't know what's wrong. I guess people don't like stories that don't have Sesshoumaru act like a total cheese puff from the beginning… Only a couple reviews, once again. so sad But I really appreciate it Spdsgirl… whiteforest23, you guys are pals XD.

Okay, I'm really sorry for the lack of updates… I was REALLY busy.. I dun wanna explain, so too bad. Hope u like the chappie

OMG! I just realized I had a chapter in my story that was an author's note and was taking up space. I'm a silly willy.

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Disclaimer: Rumiko, I ain't ownin' them no mo. They yours…happy? Now I sound southun…hehe.

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Death, Emotion, and Everything in Between

Chapter Eight

Kagome, Night

The very first thing someone in the spirit world learns is that the spiritual world of Kami and the physical world are connected by a strand of silver. This strand is impossible to see in a place other than a mind, so the best place to get a hold of it, of course, is in a dream. But, filled with worry and excitement at the same time due to today's happenings, I find it impossible to fall asleep. Will Sesshoumaru attempt to kill me after what I had done? Is it possible for him to kill me, being an Immortal? Is Inuyasha hurt? So many questions and not a single answer. I turn onto my side. And how in the world am I to convince an infuriated Sesshoumaru that his brother, whom he hates so very much, is still capable of being alive?

Why does all this sound so stupid to me now? I just don't understand why it ever made sense that Sesshoumaru would help me. But it's not like I can turn to anyone else… And why the hell am **_I _**a Miko anyway? I never asked for it. All I ever wanted to do was go home. No, that's not right either. All I ever wanted to do is be with Inuyasha. But that's not an option if he's technically not alive. And I know that he chose Kikyou, but hey, its not like …

Home. I wonder what Mom is doing right now. And Souta. A tear slides down my cheek. Will I ever go home? Is the well still working? By all rights, I should be home right now. The well allowed me to travel here because the jewel had not been used, and now Inuyasha is nowhere to use it. I turn back to face the ceiling.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? I scream in my mind. A moment passes and I sigh. My sigh wakes me up and I steel my mind. I am in no position to wonder about such things. I have a duty now, and I must never forget it. My duty is to the Western Lands, and whatever monster occupies it…But I miss them so much. And Sango, Miroku, Shippo. The pain curls me into a ball and more tears pass my closed eyelids. I hate this life. And with that I fall asleep.

_

* * *

Kagome's Dream_

_How did this happen? I look around to find to silver strand. Concentrate, I tell myself as I see myself appear from the black matter that was my dream world. I transfer my consciousness to the Kagome in my dream and resume on concentrating so that the strand may appear. "There it is!" I say out loud to my dream world. It is hanging a few yards in front of me and I take a step forward. I run to it before it disappears. Grabbing on to the string I yell the password "!"_

_Immediately, all of the solid everythings around me vanish and I find myself relocated in an immense library. There are floating candles everywhere and the shelves of the bookcases reach limits unknown to man. The candles cast a gloomy blue light about the place, instead of the usual yellow candlelight. In result, the shelves are drenched in a light blue, though they are in fact a color that is all the colors and none of them- like having white and black in the same time and place without turning into grey. I am standing in the room of the Files of Time._

"_File number 549372 please." I call out and one of the candles transforms into a hand and after a second or so reappears with my selected file. "Play" I say and I find myself in the clearing. _

"_No Kagome, don't look back, keep running" my little Shippo says. I fight the urge not to break down and cry. _

"_Forward" I say, my voice wavering a little. The scene before me plays out faster, but I can still see the happenings. I close my eyes, not wanting a reminder of the last moments of my friends. "Stop" I call out just as Inuyasha begins circling me… after Shippo…. Inuyasha runs at my neck and hits me in my stomach, I collide with a tree and fall down. I stop watching myself and focus on Inuyasha. Suddenly, he fades from the scene. There! I think to myself. "Rewind a minute prior." I say to the scene and I find myself being attacked once more. I study Inuyasha's expressions. First he grins, looking as I ram into a tree. Then, I could see the grin turn into surprise. "Pause" I yell and the look freezes on his face. "Three seconds further" I say and Inuyasha's feet begin to fade. "Two seconds back" I say, trying to locate something I may have missed. I gasp._

_Barely visible and obscured by Inuyasha's back is a shadow, too faint to show me any physical features, but enough to tell me something's wrong. What or who is this? Is this shadow the thing I have been searching for? Is this the cause of all my misery? I clench my fists. One thing is sure now; I can save Inuyasha if I find the shadow. It's possible…_

* * *

Sesshoumaru, the following Morning. In his study

I close my heavy eyes, slowly and then open them as quickly as I can without hurting them. This is no time for losing concentration. Kami knows I need to focus. The Miko's resurrection was not cheap. Even 'expensive' is an understatement. With ten courses in the main feast and five in the minor one, feeding thousands of people is a very costly business. It had taken a toll on my granaries, fields, cattle and countless other things including my treasury. I couldn't even charge much for admission because of every man's right to a religious ceremony. Maybe if I kill a few villages before the next one, there would be fewer mouths to feed…. I stop myself in my thoughts. There will never be a next one.

I take a deep relaxing sigh and turn my attention to my papers. I knew I shouldn't have planned so many courses. The humans would have praised me for three courses, but I give them five. I'm even fattening them up, making them all the more appealing to the demon passers by. At least this is the last sacrificial feast. Without a human sacrifice, there is no need for the lot of stinking humans. Oh why won't these numbers shrink? Are they even accurate? Slow, careful footsteps jerk me out of my exasperated mood. I hear the Miko approaching, stopping at my door and taking a deep breath.

She knocks on my door a polite number of times. "Enter" I say, and she does, quietly. She is wearing a light green kimono, pleasant for an unpleasant visit.

"You weren't at breakfast." She states.

"I don't need to eat." I answer monotone. Raising an eyebrow, I remark, "Has the Miko finally grown some legs?"

"Rather grown a pair of stubs. My lack of exercise is costing me my stamina, even you must understand that." She answers gently, taking great care in her words."

"What is it that you want? You didn't come down here for small talk. If so, you're more a fool than I had thought."

"May I?" She points to a free cushion. I nod and she gratefully sits down, her weak legs all but collapsing. "I am here about your brother."

"I do not have a brother."

"Inuyasha" she grimaces at the name, just as I do internally.

"Then your stupidity has no limits."

"You promised."

"I know I did." I sigh. Is there anyway to get out of this without killing the wench? After a moments pause, I say, slowly, "Do you have something to tell me?"

"Your brother is alive. I've found you proof. Last night I visited the Files of Time and I minutely observed Inuyasha's disappearance from the file. I've found something that went unnoticed before."

"Go on."

"A second prior to his disappearance, in the background there is a shadow. And a second later it is gone." At this I almost laugh. The girl delivered my escape on a silver platter.

"I fail to see the proof here. A leaf falling off a tree could have created that shadow."

"It was too big!"

"Still, shadows are not capable of such a thing. What you are suggesting is impossible. Shadows are things that are made up in bedtime stories. Because you have failed to give me _sufficient_ information, I will remove myself from this case. You are on your own." I smile inside. This was almost too perfect.

"This is your _tanechigai_ we're talking about." I simply stare at her and watch her get frustrated. "You must help me save him."

"I do not need to do anything."

"You share the same father! Do it for his sake!" She is almost crying, but that does not give her an excuse for this mistake.

"Do not ever even think about involving my father in this!" I stand up, rage inside me almost boiling. "I do not need to be reminded of his shortcomings by a girl like you."

"Shortcomings?" She whispers, barely audible.

"You backed me into a corner and expected something to come of that. No one does that to this Sesshoumaru. Your fantasy with Inuyasha has ended. The faster you realize this, the better off everyone will be." I change the subject, rage subsiding. It is not right that a girl could anger me so many times and live.

"Inuyasha is alive. I know he is." Her eyes are lowered to the ground, fists clenched. The words are coming out with fragile definition. But she does not cry. I know she would like that more than anything. I can almost taste the salt in her eyes. But she does not let a single tear fall. "Will you not even see it?"

"Shadows are for children." She looks up and stares into my eyes. Suddenly a coughing fit washes over her and I smell blood. Not as much as before, but still not a good sign. "You are not well. I will send for someone to bring you to your room."

"Sesshoumaru. Please, you must help me." She repeats herself, a last futile attempt.

"What could I possibly gain from doing so? A half-wit half-brother? Some death records? I can live without both."

She lowers her gaze. "You must realize. I will die without him."

This stops me for a moment and I look away from her. Is Inuyasha the cure for this non-existent disease? If so, I do have something to gain:a fully functional Miko and power. This can be very profitable, but too risky for me to figure out the details. She is boring her eyes into my back, I am sure. I can feel them on me, their gaze never faltering. She knows that she gave me a bone to chew on, and this Sesshoumaru does not like to be compared to filthy animals. But I can't do anything about it. This is disgusting me. I do not see a way out of this one.

"I will go with you and look upon this _shadow_ of yours, but not today. Once I am done cleaning up after this expensive rebirth of yours, I will look into it. But I do not promise to do anything about it." I can hear her smile, it is so loud. But her joy is quickly drowned out by another fit of coughing. She collapses onto the floor in a faint, her light grey cushion streaked with red. No doubt it will fade into the fabric in a matter of hours, like it did on her kimono. A servant comes into my study, as though he had sensed my call telepathically. He bows, picks up the Miko and bows awkwardly again with her in his arms, leaving my study. "Gently" I whisper as the door closes shut.

I may have to help the girl. It will be an inconvenience to me if she somehow dies. My realm may even revolt against her death, perhaps assuming it were somehow my fault. _Their savior lived and died within a year. One more of them will die at the hands of religion and one more feast will take place._ I will not have it. I watch a drop of blood slide off a corner of the cushion and evaporate before my eyes.

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Vocabulary:

tanechigai: 'half-brother'

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Sorry guys, I had most of this chapter done weeks ago, but I did not have an ending, so I couldn't put it up going to try to update more frequently, but I know that it will be almost impossible to update next week.. I'll try to the week following that one.

Anyway: response to reviewers. Hope to have more than two next time.

Thanks to my faithful reviewers… I probably lost you because of this time gap (what was it … a month? I have 2 big tournaments…plus a minor one… so busy and I have a 5-10 page bio paper to write and still have to read 300 pages on the topic I'm supposed to be writing about… ugh!)

**Spdsgrl**: Thanks a bunchies for your thoughtfulness, I probably won't get a lot until I reach chapter 20. People like to read about sexual stuff… and mine is a bit lacking at the moment :cough:. Anyway, thanks for reviewing. I know this chapter is not spectacular, but I'm stressed out here XD.

**Whiteforest23**: Well, about the matrix thing. Sometimes, when I proofread I notice some stuff. And the whole THE ONE thing… it just seemed like the matrix to me… maybe I'm just seeing things. That's probably it . . Thanks for reviewing.

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Sp: Well, I got it all figured out.

Kag: Figured what out?

Sp: How to get me more reviews.

Kag: Isn't that uh…. Obvious?

Sp: Yes it is. You know how when some fics get popular and the author has like… 40 thousand people reviewing them per chappie. And none of them get answers back.

Kag: I don't see where you're going with this…

Sp: Well, if I promise to respond to every single review given to me, won't I be encouraging more reviews?

Kag: Not really, no. I think you should just update more often...

Sp: I don't care what you think! I don't pay you to think for me!

Kag: -.-…. You don't pay me….

Sp: Well, good, with all this good for nothing _thinking_….

Kag: Oh, just shut up : Hits Spoken with a frying pan:

Sp. O.o you can't do that!

BLEEP>>>>

Sess: Spoken is currently unavailable right now, care to leave a message or just leave? Please. Leave. Now. While you still have all of your fingers.

Review PLEASE XD

Sp: I am not desperate. I am just…desperate… :face falls:

Toodles

Spoken


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